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NEW ITALY 




Makers of Italy. 
Victor Emaneul. 

Cavour. 



Garibaldi, 



NEW ITALY 

HER PEOPLE AND THEIR STORY 



A POPULAR HISTORY 

OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS 

OF ITALY FROM THE TIME OF 

THEODORICH, THE GREAT 

TO THAT OF VICTOR 

EMANUEL HI. 



BY 

AUGUSTA HALE GIFFORD 

Author of 
«• GEBMAirr : Her People and Their Story " 



ILLUSTRATED FROM 
PORTRAITS AND FAMOUS PAINTINGS 



BOSTON 
LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 



Published, March, 1909 






Copyrighty igog, 
By Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company. 



All Rights Reserved 



New Italy 



Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U. S. A. 



lUBRARYofCONGnESS^ 
Two Copies Received 

MAY 3 HJ09 

A • V. v.- Wo 




I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO MY HUSBAND 

GEORGE GIFFORD 

FROM WHOSE GENIUS I RECEIVED MY EARLIEST 

LITERARY ASPIRATIONS 

AND TO WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT I OWE WHATEVER 

SUCCESS I HAVE HAD IN LETTERS 



INTRODUCTION 



From the dawn of Italy's history the Italian's impres- 
sionable nature has responded in life and literature to 
the ardor of the scholar, the illusion of the painter, 
and the touch of the musician's hand; and thus 
research in every avenue connected with this most 
fascinating people is attractive in the extreme. 

Italy is one of the most discussed subjects of 
the day, both on account of the great number of 
Americans who visit the country each year and also 
because it has recently come into notice as a kingdom 
in process of large development, which is likely to 
result in its finally assuming a place as one of the lead- 
ing nations. 

More and more is written each year concerning 
Italy's aims, aspirations, probabilities, and chances. 
Hence the necessity of a work telling the deeds of the 
people from earliest times has become most urgent. 

With reference also to modern Italian history for the 
past few decades, little concerning it has been put into 
concise readable form, and a great demand has all at 
once sprung up for a bright, brief, entertaining, 
authentic account of events in Italy since her consoli- 
dation as a united kingdom in 1870. 



viii Introduction 

No country has produced more intensely interesting 
historical characters than are found in both ancient and 
modern Italy ; and the deepest regret is entertained that 
in the comparatively small space it is possible to give 
this vast subject, the greater part of what is most 
absorbing in the lives of eminent Italians must be left 
out. Accordingly, with few exceptions, we have only 
tried in the regular routine of the work to present dis- 
tinguished Italian statesmen and scholars by their most 
distinguished deeds and, as they appear in the fore- 
ground of what they really accomplished, leaving the 
reader to elaborate their lives from biographies and his- 
tories which take up topics in detail. In some cases 
also, where matters relating to both Germany and 
Italy were treated thoroughly in our " Germany : Her 
People and Their Story," we have here only referred 
to such subjects superficially. 

Much of the material for this volume was collected 
during long absences abroad, with frequent sojourns 
in Italy, where access was gained to many books and 
historical papers in the original Italian as well as in 
oth-er foreign languages. These furnished us informa- 
tion not obtainable in works hitherto published in 
English, while items concerning events transpiring in 
Italy during the past few years have been gleaned from 
magazines and general current literature in Italian, as 
they have appeared from month to month. Thus the 
civic and political conditions of Italy as a new king- 
dom have been determined from the popular home 
sentiment. 

Among writers consulted in the course of the work, 
besides books referred to at odd times, the names of 
which have often not been kept in mind are : Plutarch, 
Livy, Gibbon, Niebuhr, Mommsen, Symonds, Sismondi, 



CONTENTS 



Chapter 1 1 

Course of History from Theodorich to Charle- 
magne. — Italy's Early Kings. — The Ottos. 489- 
1002 A.D. 

Chapter II 17 

Beginning of the Italian Republics. — ^The Franconian 
Kings as Emperors. — The Norman Conquest. — 
Guelphs and Ghibellines. — Hildebrand. — The 
Hohenstaufen. — Frederick Barbarossa. — The 
Lombard League. 1002-1190 a.d. 

Chapter III 29 

Henry VI. — Frederick II. — Innocent III. — Branca- 
leone. — Manfred. — Charles of Anjou. — 1190- 

1280 A.D. 

Chapter IV 41 

Venice, Pisa, Genoa, Colonna and Orsini. — Sicilian 
Vespers. — The Neri and Bianchi. — Dante. 1280- 
13 10 A.D. 

Chapter V. 53 

The Age of the Despots. — ^The Condottieri and 
the Free Companies. — Petrarch. — Boccaccio. — 
Giotto. — Cimabue. — Rienzi. 13 10- 1354 a.d. 

Chapter VI 69 

The Visconti. — ^The Chiompi Insurrection in Flor- 
ence. — ^The Babylonian Captivity of the Popes.— 
The Great Schism. 1349-1435 a.d. 



vi Contents 

PAGB 

Chapter VII 8i 

Rise of the Medici. — The Sforza Family. — Nicholas 
V. — Savonarola. 1435- 1495 a.d. 

Chapter VIII 95 

Age of Invasion. — Coming of Charles VIII. — 
Spanish Possession of Naples. — The Expulsion 
of Ludovico Sforza. — Savonarola's Death. — 
Peace of Cambrey. — Art and Literature. 1494- 
1553 A.D. 

Chapter IX 114 

Age of Spanish Rule. — Clement VII. — Fall of the 
Medici. — The Jesuits. — Decline of Venice. 1513- 
1574 A.D. 

Chapter X 130 

The Rise of the House of Savoy. — Her Dukes. — 
Charles Emanuel I. the Great. — Excitement At- 
tending Struggle of Spanish Succession. — 
Masaniello. — Italy's Kingdoms, Duchies, and 
Republics at Napoleon's Invasion. 1574-1792 a.d. 

Chapter XI 147 

The Absorption of Italy by Napoleon. — Formation 
of His Republics. — Enthusiasm of Italy for 
Napoleon's Institutions. — 'Italy Restored in 
Napoleon's Absence in Egypt. — Battle of 
Marengo. — Excavations of Roman Ruins in 
Napoleon's Time. 1792-1812 a.d. 

Chapter XII 166 

The Fall of Napoleon's Italian Monarchy. — Austria 
Again in Ascendency. — Advanced Ideas of the 
People. — Old Conservative Governments Re- 
stored. — The Carbonari. — All Italy Aroused. — 
Revolutions of 1821-1830 and 1848. — Mazzini, 
Cavour, and Garibaldi. 1812-1848 a.d. 



Contents vii 

PAGE 

Chapter XIII 184 

The Defeat of Charles Albert. — Resigns in Favor of 
His Son.— His Melancholy Death.— Victor 
Emanuel II.'s Liberal Reign. — Career of Cavour. 
— Louis Napoleon Restores the Pope. — Massimo 
d'Azeglio. 1848-1859 a.d. 

Chapter XIV 203 

Victories of Magenta and Solferino. — Disgraceful 
Truce with Austria by Napoleon. — Central Italy 
Ceded to Piedmont. — The Treaty of Villa- 
franca. — Nice and Savoy Given to France. — 
Garibaldi Delivers Kingdom of Naples. — ^The 
Unification of Italy. — Cavour*s Death. — Sep- 
tember Convention. 1859- 1861 a.d. 

Chapter XV. 221 

The United Kingdom of Italy. — Capital Removed 
from Turin to Florence. — Alliance with Prus- 
sia. — Prussian Army Victorious at Koniggratz. 
— Austria Gives up Venice. — Italian Army De- 
feated at Custoza, etc. — End of September Con- 
vention. — Pope Yields to Superior Force and 
Gives up Temporal Power. — ^The Papal States 
Amalgamated. 186 1- 1870 a.d. 

Chapter XVI 233 

Victor Emanuel Enters Rome as King of United 
Italy. — He Administers Affairs of the Govern- 
ment Faithfully. — Death of Many of Italy's Emi- 
nent Men. — Victor Emanuel Dies. — Death of 
Pope Pius IX.— Pope Leo XIIL— Reign of King 
Humbert. — Death of Garibaldi — Succeeding 
Events and Changes. 1870-1899 a.d. 

Chapter XVII 251 

Princes of the House of Savoy. — Officers of the 
State and Its Various Institutions. — Improve- 
ment in Condition of People in Various Sections 
and Departments, — Vast Emigration. 



viii Contents 

PAGB 

Chapter XVIII 265 

Abyssinian War. — Crispi. — ^Authors. 1885-1899 a.d. 

Chapter XIX 285 

Assassination of King Humbert. — ^Victor Emanuel 
III. — Death of Crispi. — Birth of Princess 
lolande. — Birth of Humbert, Prince of Pied- 
mont. 1900-1905 A.D. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Makers of Italy . Frontispiece ^'' 

Victor Emanuel 

Cavour 

Garibaldi 

PAGE 

Dante and Beatrice 46 

Savonarola 91 

Artists Ill ^ 

Raphael 

Giotto 

Michaelangelo 

Fra Angelico 

Leonardo da Vinci 

Map, Italy in the time of Napoleon 149 

Authors 162 

Tasso 

Petrarch 

Dante 

Boccaccio 

d'Annunzio 
Map, Italy after the downfall of Napoleon . . 168 

Castle of St. Angelo 232'" 

Pope Leo XIII 240 ^' 

Map, Italy at the present time 253 

Musicians 280 ^ 

Donizetti 

Bellini 

Rossini 

Verdi 

Mascagni 

Naples of To-day 284 ^ 

Victor Emanuel III 290 ^ 

Queen Helene 294/ 



NEW ITALY 

CHAPTER I 

COURSE OF HISTORY FROM THEODORICH TO CHARLE- 
MAGNE. — ITALY^S EARLY KINGS. — THE OTTOS. 

489—1002 A.D. 

IT IS thought that the seven vultures which Remus 
first espied signified the seven centuries previous to 
the founding of the Empire, while the twelve birds 
in the heavens which appeared to Romulus indicated 
the twelve centuries during which Rome existed in 
her glory and might. Perhaps also there was a signifi- 
cance in the last ruler of the Empire being called 
Romulus Augustulus, the combined names of the 
founder of Rome and of the first Emperor. It might 
have been a cynicism on the small beginning, wonder- 
ful growth and phenomenal decay of a great nation, 
since Rome had passed from the immaturity of child- 
hood to the ripening of a noble manhood, and had 
then sunk into the decadence of a State which had 
passed its prime and outlived its usefulness. 

As we have had reason to notice, in her early strife 
for glory Rome recognized no forces outside herself. 
By her the other nations were regarded as so many 
puppets, an element of strength or weakness, accord- 
ing as they administered to her growth. Even her 
heroes were only used to advance her interests, and 
every great statesman whose mighty deeds had 
redounded to Rome's glory was thrust aside as soon 
as he ceased to be a stepping-stone on which she could 
mount to further greatness. Her demigods caught 



2 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the spirit, and trod beneath their feet all who stood 
in the way of their ambition. " Mighty and all-power- 
ful " were synonyms which crushed opposing influ- 
ences, whether the words represented Marius or Sylla, 
Pompey or Caesar, or the madmen who ruled as 
Emperors so many years after the downfall of the 
great State had commenced. The wars of Hannibal, 
instead of crushing the Roman people, brought out 
the arrogance and vainglory of a nation that could 
not be humbled even when abject at the great con- 
queror's feet; and nothing was able to destroy her 
until the poison of effeminacy, engendered by her 
successes, ate like a canker into her body politic, pro- 
ducing a race of pigmies in place of a nation of giants. 
Gibbon says that the decline of Rome was the natural 
and inevitable result of immoderate greatness. 

The Roman Empire before its fall in 476 a.d. had 
become a prey to the numerous barbarian factors she 
had appropriated, each seizing for himself the part 
which pleased him best; and thus many kingdoms had 
risen out of her ashes. The Angles subjugated Britain 
and named it England; the Franks conquered Gaul 
and called it France; and the Burgundians absorbed 
the portion which afterwards became Burgundy. The 
Vandals and Goths possessed Spain and extended their 
dominion over all the Roman provinces in Africa, 
holding them until Justinian's time; Panonia became 
Hungary, and " Italy alone kept her glorious name." 
Thus Rome, which had excelled all nations in liter- 
ature and the fine arts, and had become the model 
for great and warlike deeds, she, the world-conquer- 
ing portion of the globe, who by the force of her 
genius had dispelled mental darkness from the world, 
was at last the most subjugated. The very spoils 



New Italy 3 

she had taken from the vanquished nations helped to 
precipitate her ruin by their demoraHzing influence, 
and misfortune thickened in proportion to her preced- 
ing prosperity. 

There were, however, native forces outside of Rome 
that still held something of pristine virtue, and this 
was Italy's chance. Yet the years of servitude and 
centuries of chaos had been so tremendous in their 
influence that the strength of factions warring against 
their own interests could not be centralized in a 
moment. 

Italy was too great a prize to be left long in the 
undisputed possession of the weaklings who called 
themselves rulers; and the chieftain Odoacer, as has 
been noticed, having snatched it from their hands, 
governed it for a while as a barbarian king. 

North of the Black Sea, however, there was a pow- 
erful nation known as the Ostrogoths, or Eastgoths, 
whose king was Theodorich. Under him in 489 the 
Eastgoths marched seven hundred miles over the Alps 
into the plains of northern Italy; and in 493 a.d. 
forced the intrepid Odoacer to surrender, after he had 
held out bravely behind the strongholds of Ravenna 
for three years. Theodorich afterwards, in violation 
of an agreement to share the rule with Odoacer, put 
the latter to death. Zeno, the sovereign of the East- 
ern Empire, jealous of Theodorich's growing power, 
favored the victor, thinking that if the latter could 
absorb the Western kingdom he should not only be 
delivered from a dangerous rival, but that all com- 
plications with reference to Italy would thus be settled. 

Considering the circumstances surrounding Theo- 
dorich the Great and the times in which he lived, his 
reputation for culture and wisdom is not unwarranted. 



4 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

He was a prince of barbarian origin, but while still a 
child was educated in Constantinople as a hostage; 
and there he had acquired all the arts of civilized life. 
From the first he showed great executive ability in 
uniting Gothic and Italian elements so that they would 
do the best service for all. With this in view, he 
apportioned one-third of the soil of Italy to his Gothic 
soldiers, leaving the larger portion to the Italians; 
and in this way he succeeded in Romanizing his sub- 
jects instead of attempting, as other conquerors before 
him had done, to denationalize the subjugated. 

Theodorich also built up the State by other adroit 
and diplomatic measures, and among his discreet alli- 
ances with other surrounding nations was one with 
the great Frank, Clovis; and although he himself 
could never learn to write, he established communica- 
tion through secretaries with all the Gothic rulers 
throughout Europe. In order to better protect his 
kingdom, he kept up an army so well drilled that he 
could call into the field two hundred thousand war- 
riors at an hour's notice. Theodorich endeavored in 
ever>^ way to bring about the enlightenment of Italy; 
and these efforts, together with his great energy and 
sagacity, rendered his reign an era of unparalleled 
peace and prosperity. 

But in spite of his ability as a ruler, his vigor, 
tolerance and humanity, his love for literature, science 
and the fine arts, Theodorich exhibited many defects 
due to his barbarian descent. This was seen in the 
case of his favorites, the philosophers Boethius and 
Symmachus, whom he caused to be cruelly put to death 
without a trial, because he suspected them of plot- 
ting with Justinian to overthrow his Arian religion. 
When, however, he became satisfied of their innocence, 



New Italy 5 

remorse for the deed preyed upon his mind and short- 
ened his life, though for six years longer he dragged 
out a melancholy existence, dying in gloom in 526 a.d. 
at the age of seventy-four. His ashes were scattered 
to the wind by the Catholics, who regarded him as a 
heretic on account of his Arian doctrine. 

During the last few years of Theodorich's reign 
Justinian was Emperor at Constantinople. Although 
of uncivilized stock he was the most famous of all 
the Eastern Emperors, his reign being filled with great 
events at home and abroad, in peace and in war. As 
a legislator and codifier of Roman law his name is 
most distinguished ; many of the codes he systematized 
being the same which Julius Caesar had commenced 
to classify. 

Justinian sent his great general Belisarius to take 
Sicily, and the latter, with Narses, afterwards suc- 
ceeded in extinguishing the race of Ostrogoths, after 
a desperate resistance on their part, thus reconquer- 
ing for Justinian a great part of the Western Empire. 

Belisarius also subdued Gelimar, the last King of 
the Vandals in Africa. He guaranteed him his free- 
dom as the price of surrender. Nevertheless he led 
the old Vandal warrior with a silver chain to Byzan- 
tium, where he forced him to walk in a triumphal 
procession, insulted and ridiculed by the people. The 
dignity and strength of the aged Vandal chief, how- 
ever, so impressed Emperor Justinian that he released 
him, giving him large estates outside the Byzantine 
capital, besides granting homes to his retinue and 
educating the maidens of his suite. But five thou- 
sand of Gelimar's squadrons were sent with Justinian's 
soldiers to fight the Parthians ; and the nation which at 
one time had numbered six hundred thousand fol- 



6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

lowers was annihilated. Thus the Vandal race dis- 
appeared from history. But scientists claim that they 
discover a remnant among the swarthy Moors of 
Africa, with a fair complexion and flaxen hair, whom 
they trace as descendants of the Vandals. 

Justinian was the last efficient Byzantine Emperor. 
He died in 565 a.d., and Italy soon after, during the 
sixth, seventh and eighth centuries, came under the rule 
of the Exarchs, Narses being the first to govern as such. 
There were seventeen Exarchs in all, who made the 
lives of the people most miserable. As a civic officer, 
the Exarch was a kind of a prefect or viceroy, and as 
an ecclesiastic his duties were varied. 

Narses ruled Italy for fifteen years as Exarch at 
Ravenna, and was a very important historical character 
of the sixth century. But he excited the jealousy 
of Justin 11. , successor of Justinian, who removed 
him. Sophia, the wife of Justin 11. , is said to have 
sent Narses insulting messages together with a golden 
distaff, bidding him spin wool in the apartment of the 
women, since he had none of the great qualities of 
manhood. Narses retorted that he would spin her 
a thread the length of which should be the limit of her 
life. He then summoned the Lombards to take pos- 
session of the land, hoping that his services would be 
needed to repel these foreign invaders. 

The Lombards whom Narses enlisted were a fierce 
nation of heathen who dwelt in Hungary, and for 
nearly two hundred years, from 570 to 744, kept the 
whole Italian nation in a ferment. The ferocious 
Lombard warrior, Alboin, soon arrived in northern 
Italy with his vast hordes, and in the course of time 
a large portion of the Italian peninsula was wrested 
by them from the Eastern Empire. The Lombard 



New Italy 7 

duchies, that portion which was afterwards called 
the Southern Regno, were soon developed. These 
formed the " Theme of Lombardy," finally including 
in its boundaries Gaeta, Naples, the islands of Sicily 
and Sardinia, and the extremities of Calabria, the most 
southern portion of Italy, which was a little later held 
by the Byzantine Greeks. 

Alboin assumed the title of King of the Lombards 
and made his captains counts and dukes over provinces 
which became his fiefs ; but he continued to be a bar- 
barian, amusing himself in his carousals like any sav- 
age, until finally he was murdered in 573 by his wife 
Rosamund, daughter of Kunimund, Queen of the 
Gepidae, because in a drunken revel he forced her to 
drink from her father's skull. 

There were thirty-two Lombard kings in all. 
Autharis, the most celebrated of these, was distin- 
guished for valor and great deeds. He was success- 
ful in warding off three eruptions of the Franks, who 
were trying to force their way into the plains of 
northern Italy. Rotharis and Grimoald were law- 
makers, the latter a reformer of his predecessors' 
codes. Luitprand conquered Ravenna and Aistolphus 
tried to get possession of the power at Rome, but was 
outwitted by Pepin the Short. Desiderius was the 
last King of the Lombards and was subdued by 
Charlemagne. The rest of the Lombard rulers were 
scarcely more than figureheads. 

Pavia was the capital of the Lombard kingdom, 
and during the reign of Autharis Gregory the Great 
was Universal Bishop and the only real ruler of Rome 
during the troublous times between 590 and 604. 
Gregory was of aristocratic family, and, after being 
Senator and governor, he had, when the Lombards 



8 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

arrived, been promoted to the office of praetor. Be- 
sides fulfilling his duties with dignity and pomp, he 
appropriated a large income to the needs of the State. 
After coming into the possession of great wealth 
through the death of his father, he became a monk of 
St. Benedict and dedicated the whole of his property 
to the establishment of charitable institutions. Thus 
the power of the Church commenced, not at first 
because the officers of Christ sought lands and wealth 
for their own uses, but because they really were seek- 
ing to be ministers of mercy to the suffering and 
needy. Men of means entered the monasteries, and 
since all that they had before owned was now given to 
the Church, that body became very rich, and, wealth 
being power, more powerful than the State itself. Six 
monasteries in Sicily were of Gregory's founding, and 
he himself lived in one of his own asylums, which had 
once been his estate on the Caelian Hill. Here he 
gave up his time to the care of the sick and to the 
study of the Scriptures, subsisting all the while on the 
meanest diet. It was at this time that his mother, 
who lived in an adjacent convent, used to bring him 
pulse in a massive silver dish, the last relic of their 
former great prosperity. One day, however, touched 
by the pitiable condition of a shipwrecked sailor, he 
presented the poor wayfarer with this heirloom. 

It was Gregory the Great who commenced the con- 
version of the Britons to Christianity. Some English 
slave children in the market in Rome attracted his 
attention ; and, on account of their fair skins and lovely 
faces, he called them angels or engels, and some think 
the word Angles or English came from this incident; 
and there are others who say he punned on the letters 
of the word Angles, and said that they would be little 



New Italy g 

" Engels " if they could be converted to Christianity. 
The thought of their conversion so occupied his mind 
that he obtained a dispensation to preach the Gospel 
to the Anglo-Saxons in England ; but when the people 
saw him starting out for that field they raised such a 
clamour at the thought of losing him, that he had to 
turn back ; and it was soon after this, in 590, that he 
was chosen Pope, then called Universal Bishop. It 
was Gregory's wish that " he might be unknown in 
this life and glorious only in the next." Accordingly, 
to escape this honor conferred upon him, he hid in a 
basket and was transported from the city as mer- 
chandise, his retreat being revealed, it is said, by a 
celestial light. Under him, forty missionaries were 
sent out to England, and in less than ten years ten 
thousand of the Anglo-Saxons were baptized. 

Just before this a pestilence fell on Rome, and 
Gregory the Great made the people form seven great 
processions, consisting of all ages and of every con- 
dition in life, not excluding women and children. All 
marched in this singular cortege, singing litanies and 
entreating that the dire disease might be stayed; and 
when the plague ceased Gregory thought that he be- 
held an angel standing on Hadrian's tomb. Accord- 
ingly out of gratitude he had a chapel built on its 
summit and dedicated it to the Lord, calling it St. An- 
gelo. From that time the whole magnificent round 
structure has been called the Castle of St. Angelo. 

After the death of the Lombard Autharis, Theodo- 
Hnda, his beautiful queen, whom he had won romantic- 
ally by going in quest of her himself, exerted so 
powerful an influence for Pope Gregory, that this, 
together with Gregory the Great's justice and wisdom, 
gained for the Papal office such prestige that for the 



10 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

first time, as has been already noticed, it was exalted 
over temporal sovereignty. 

In the course of the next sixty years Italy was 
governed by rulers so insignificant in character that 
the most of their names have not been handed down. 
Ravenna, Naples and Genoa, like Rome and Venice, 
were still under the protection of the great Byzantine 
Empire; but, since all the fighting men had to be 
employed against the ravages of the Saracens, there 
was not sufficient force to keep down the Lombards 
in the North, until at last Pope Gregory III. called 
to his aid the great Prankish general, Charles Martel, 
who had driven back the Saracens on the 3d of 
October, 732, at the Battle of Tours, and had been 
rewarded for his valor by receiving Aquitania as a 
gift. Although Charles Martel did little for the 
Church, Aquitania was divided between his two sons; 
and the elder, Pepin, was afterwards made Patriarch 
of Rome by Pope Stephen as a reward for endowing 
the Church with lands taken from the Lombard ruler 
Aistolphus. Pepin soon became King of the Franks 
and was the first of the Carlovingian line. He is 
known in history as Pepin the Short. 

Charlemagne, son of Pepin, broke up the Lombard 
kingdom, which had lasted two hundred years, when 
at Pavia, in yy2>^ he overcame Desiderius, the last 
Lombard ruler; and ever afterwards he was recog- 
nized as King of the Franks and Lombards. 

A dramatic scene in the old Church of St. Peter's at 
Rome in reality opens the page of history for New 
Italy. Pope Leo III. had been imprisoned in a mon- 
astery by the Duke of Spoleto, and Charlemagne, to 
whom he had fled for aid, sent him back to Rome 
before the Christmas of 800 a.d. Having assumed 



New Italy ii 

the garb of a Patrician, Charlemagne appeared in the 
Cathedral of St. Peter's. While he was kneeling in 
prayer Pope Leo stepped forward and placed upon his 
head the crown of the Roman Empire, the great 
dome resounding with the peoples' acclamation: 
" Long life and victory to Charles, crowned of God, 
the great peace-giving Emperor of the Romans.'' 
The Western Empire then breathed again; and from 
that date a new era opened for Europe. As a reward 
for the gift, Charlemagne gave to the Church Spoleto, 
the nucleus of what was later the Papal States; and 
the Popes were temporal sovereigns in Italy through 
the whole of the Carlovingian dynasty; for, although 
Charlemagne by his great statesmanship, during a 
reign of forty years, held Italy as well as France, a 
part of Spain, Germany and Hungary together, and 
his dominion was washed by the British Channel, the 
North, Baltic and Mediterranean seas and the Atlantic 
Ocean, he rarely resided in Rome, and his successors 
were mere figureheads. Accordingly the great net- 
work of government he had held securely together 
soon fell to pieces. Gibbon says that of all the princes 
who received the appellation of the " Great," Charle- 
magne is the only one in whose favor the title has been 
indissolubly blended with the name. 

Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, who suc- 
ceeded him by the terms of the Treaty at Verdun in 
843, was followed, in the government of Italy, by his 
son Lothair. The kingdoms of Germany and France 
were at this time separated from each other, the 
former still adhering in a sense to Italy. In Lothair's 
reign the Saracens made such inroads, that among 
the defences against them the Vatican was for the 
first time surrounded by walls. Louis II. succeeded 



12 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Lothair and on his death the throne was disputed Ky 
his uncles and cousins. Gibbon says : " The dregs of 
the Carlovingian race no longer exhibited any symp- 
toms of virtue or power, and the ridiculous epithets 
of the ^ bard/ the * fat/ the ^ stammerer/ and the 
' simple/ distinguished the tame and uniform features 
of a crowd of kings, alike deserving of oblivion/' 
Charles the Fat was the last Emperor of his family, 
he having been deposed in a Diet on account of 
incapacity. 

The old Lombard dukedoms were now reduced to 
Tuscany, Ivrea, Friuli, Susa, and Spoleto. Tuscany 
was the most prosperous; but the quarrels of these 
dukes after the fall of the Carlovingian line were 
fierce and never-ending. After this, those who could 
appear at the gates of Rome with the largest armies 
were crowned Emperors in the Vatican, but usually 
they were only Kings of Italy. There were Lambert 
and Berengarius and the able Arnulf, descended from 
Charlemagne in an illegitimate line, and Louis of 
Provence, besides other pretenders. While Berenga- 
rius was fighting the Saxons and Hungarians, he was 
obliged to leave affairs at home to the nobles and 
monks whom he authorized to fortify their residences 
in order to better secure themselves from assault. In 
this way Italy first became covered with castles and 
fortresses, which was the beginning of the peninsula 
being cut up into isolated states having their own 
militia, officers and magistrates. Thus divided be- 
tween " feudal nobles and hereditary ecclesiastics/' all 
national feeling in Italy was stifled. 

Anarchy and misery are the most prominent features 
of that long space of time between the death of Charle- 
magne and the descent of Otto the Great into Italy 



New Italy 13 

in 951 ; and during the tenth century the civil and 
religious functions were united and became heredi- 
tary in the family of the Counts of Tusculum. 

After the death of Formosus, who crowned Arnulf, 
the Popes followed each other in quick succession, 
until eleven had passed away, some not reigning ten 
months, and others not even as many days. During 
the last half of the tenth century two very depraved 
women decided the politics of the times to a great 
degree, setting up Popes and putting them down at 
will. These women were Theodora, called the Sena- 
trix, and her daughter Marozia, the mother of Alberich, 
who was the son of her first husband Alberich of 
Spoleto. 

Alberich was one of the best rulers Rome ever knew, 
and for twenty years succeeded in bringing order and 
respectability into the society of Italy. His govern- 
ment was republican, and he was known as '' Princeps 
atque omnium Romanorum Senator''; the foundation 
of his power being the right of the Roman people to 
choose their own ruler in spite of any who might call 
themselves Emperor. He had gained the power by 
shutting up his infamous mother Marozia in prison; 
but at the same time, Hugh of Provence, his step- 
father, continued King of Italy outside of Rome; 
until driven to desperation by the many conspiracies 
against him he gave up the power, appointing his son 
king at Milan, as Lothair II. The latter, after his 
father's death, became a victim of Berengarius II., 
who himself was declared King of Italy. 

Thus matters stood when in the year 951 Otto of 
Saxony, known as Otto the Great, invaded Italy and 
conquered the kingdom. He compelled Berengarius 
II. to surrender, and, after imprisoning him in the 



14 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Castle of Bamberga in Germany, he liberated and mar- 
ried Adelaide, the charming wife of Lothair, whom 
Berengarius had imprisoned in an old castle because 
she refused to espouse his son. The coronation of 
Otto in 962 was considered a revival of the old Empire ; 
for up to this time, ever since Charlemagne, the Italian 
rulers had only been kings of a part of Italy with a 
meaningless title. 

Otto the Great's life henceforth was spent in travel- 
ing back and forth from Germany to Italy settling 
disputes, since Berengarius II. and Alberich's son 
Octavian, who was Pope John XII., forgot all their 
pledges and kept rising over and over again in rebel- 
lion. During the last six years of Otto's occupancy 
of Italy he deposed Pope John XIL, who lacked all 
the good qualities of his father, Alberich. He was 
criticised as an inefficient temporal ruler and accused 
as Pope of being a perjurer, murderer and plunderer 
of the Church. Otto had shown his lack of confidence 
in Roman sincerity as far back as the time when he 
was crowned by Pope John XIL, and had told his 
sword-bearer to watch, saying : " While I am praying 
in St. Peter's keep your sword close to my head, since 
when we reach Monte Mario you will have time to 
pray as much as you like." 

Otto the Great at last died in Rome in 983, leaving 
a record for great deeds and a reputation for valor and 
wisdom which posterity has honored. In view of a 
plan to unite the Eastern and Western Empires, he 
had brought about the marriage of his son, Otto IL, 
with Theophania, the daughter of the Greek Byzantine 
Emperor at Constantinople. 

Otto II. spent but little of his short reign in Italy, 
and during the minority of his son, Otto III., the 



New Italy 15 

Romans set up a municipal government under a man 
named Crescentius, a citizen of great wealth and noble 
family, descended from Theodora and Pope John X.; 
but Crescentius failed because he had none of the well- 
defined principles of Alberich. 

Otto IIL, after having passed a sentence of banish- 
ment against Crescentius, was crowned by Gregory V., 
his own appointed Pope, in 996 a.d. ; but when Otto 
went back to Germany Crescentius rose again, and 
Otto, returning, recaptured the rebel in the Castle of 
St. Angelo, afterwards sometimes called the Tower 
of Crescentius. Notwithstanding that the latter had 
surrendered on condition of his life being spared, 
Otto had him beheaded with twelve of his companions. 

Since the days of Nicholas L, under Louis the Pious, 
there had never been such a vigorous assertion of 
Papal rights as at this epoch. It is even thought that 
Gerbert, Otto III/s old tutor, whom he had made 
Sylvester 11. , was the first to agitate the subject of pil- 
grimages to the holy places of the East, the outcome 
of which was the Crusades. Under Sylvester II.'s in- 
fluence Otto III. spent his time in fasting and prayer 
and pilgrimages, devoting most of his means to 
churches and monasteries and neglecting the affairs of 
the world to such an extent that he was finally com- 
pelled by the Crescentian party to leave the city. Up 
to this time he had intended to make Italy his home, 
having built in Rome a splendid palace, where he lived 
in the Byzantine style. 

When Otto was about to return from a banishment 
of some years, he was attacked with a deadly Italian 
fever and died in the winter of 1002 a.d., at the early 
age of twenty-two. It is claimed by some that he was 
poisoned by Stephanie, the wife of Crescentius. 



i6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Thus Otto the Great's plan of a Holy Roman Ger- 
man Byzantine Empire fell to pieces at the death of 
his grandson. The government of Rome, though sub- 
ject to the Pope for a time, resembled that set up by 
Crescentius ; but this declined under the corrupt rulers 
of the great House of Tusculum. 



The Republics 17 



CHAPTER II 

BEGINNING OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICS. — ^THE FRANCO- 
NIAN KINGS AS EMPERORS. — THE NORMAN CON- 
QUEST. — GUELPHS AND GHIBELLINES. — HILDEBRAND. 

THE HOHENSTAUFEN. — FREDERICK BARBAROSSA. 

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE. 

1002—1190 A.D. 

A FTER the fall of the Carlovingian line, the quar- 
/xrels among the petty dukes who aspired to be 
Kings of Italy, and the inroads of Hungarians and 
other barbarian nations, had caused the people to 
gather in the cities for mutual defence. The feudal 
nobles soon retired to fortified heights, and the cities, 
partially rid of their tyranny, increased in importance 
and at a redoubled rate. Naples, Amalfi, Pisa and 
Venice had thus gained a considerable degree of inde- 
pendence outside of the Lombard rule; and now, if 
all the cities had united, they could have formed a 
great and vigorous nation. As it was, in Otto the 
Great's reign the powerful Italian kingdom founded 
by the early Lombards ceased to exist; and with its 
subversion the only hope of a united Italy vanished. 
A little later, however, the most brilliant period of 
Lombard's independent history came about with the 
fall of the dukedoms and rise of the Commune. 

The government in these Lombard cities, which, in 
the eleventh century became embryo republics, was 
carried on by two consuls chosen by the people, -each of 
the rising commonwealths having two councils. The 
more general of these carried out the measures of the 



i8 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

city government, and the other, which was called the 
Great Council or Senate, discussed all the new decrees. 
The highest power, however, was centered in the people 
themselves. When special measures were to be con- 
sidered the big bell tolled, calling all the citizens to a 
general Council or Parliament in the city square. 

After Otto Ill's death the Lombard nobles, as- 
sisted by Pavia, tried to resuscitate the defunct State 
by electing Arduin Magnus of Ivrea, while Milan 
chose Henry of Bavaria, afterwards Henry H. Thus 
the long-continued contest began which put an end 
to kings in Italy up to the time of Victor Emanuel II., 
the Pavian party sustaining Arduin until he with- 
drew and Henry 11. was chosen. The latter died in 
1024, and Conrad IL, who succeeded him, confined 
his attention to the conquest of Burgundy, leaving the 
government of Italy to the nobles and bishops. 

It was at this time that Milan started out on that 
brilliant career for which she has ever since been dis- 
tinguished. Her ascendancy over the burghs of Lom- 
bardy commenced when Heribert, the archbishop, 
organized the population into an independent com- 
munity. It was he who originated the Carroccio, a 
huge car drawn by oxen, bearing the standard of the 
burgh and carrying an altar on which the Crucifixion 
was portrayed and the Host uplifted. This formed a 
rallying point in battle and played an important role in 
the warfare between the Italian cities in the Middle 
Ages, the loss of the Carroccio being an indication of 
most crushing defeat. 

Conrad IL, having heard that Heribert was assum- 
ing too much authority, came to the rescue of the 
lesser nobles; and although as archbishop he had in- 
vited the king to Italy and crowned him with the Iron 



The Republics 19 

Crown of Lombardy, Conrad II. deposed and impris- 
oned Heribert. Conrad died soon after returning to 
Italy, and Henry III., his successor, set in motion far- 
reaching reforms in Rome, where scandalous anarchy 
reigned under an utterly demoralized priesthood. 
After settling up the quarrels of ten Popes, who had 
one after the other disgraced the Papacy, one of the 
incumbents being a boy of only ten years, Conrad 
placed Leo IX. in the Papal Chair. 

At this time three hundred Norman knights had 
been enlisted by the Greek Byzantine Emperor to help 
drive the Saracens out of Sicily. After fierce disputes 
among themselves about the distribution of the spoils, 
these knights, captivated with the climate of southern 
Italy, and delighted with the soil, united under Robert 
Guiscard for the purpose of seizing the whole southern 
Regno for themselves. At the Battle of Civitella, in 
1053, the Papal party was defeated and Pope Leo IX. 
taken prisoner; but, respecting his sanctity, the Nor- 
mans made concessions, agreeing to accept as fiefs 
of the Holy See Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, where 
Henry 11. had already given them leave to settle. This 
was a valuable stepping-stone to the future advance- 
ment of the Papacy; but it was the cause of many 
disturbances in Italy afterwards, since the power 
gained in this way by Robert Guiscard, and later by 
his brother, the great Count Roger, was the means of 
their family finally acquiring all Sicily ; for after thirty 
years, the Normans wrested the whole island from the 
Saracens, and Roger at his death bequeathed to his 
son of the same name Calabria and Sicily, a kingdom 
which afterwards became the most flourishing in 
Europe. 

Up to 1 130 the Apulian Duchy was held as a duke- 



20 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

dom by the Hauteville family, the descendants of 
Robert Guiscard ; but at this date Apuha and Calabria, 
included in the Kingdom of Naples, were united with 
Sicily into what was called the '' Two Sicilies," and 
Count Roger II. obtaining the crown of the United 
Kingdom by Papal Investiture, Naples became the 
capital. This kingdom assumed and developed a 
more feudal character than the governments of the 
rest of Italy, and for six hundred years, with few inter- 
missions, this Regno continued as a fief of the Holy 
See. The Norman conquest of the Two Sicilies forms 
a most romantic episode in mediaeval Italian history. 

The Greek maritime cities, Naples, Gseta and Amalfi, 
which had flourished earHer, increasing their trade in 
the East by monopolizing the Mediterranean, were 
crippled by the Normans, and in time gave place to 
Genoa, Pisa and Venice. These prosperous cities 
also carried on domestic manufactures and all were 
liberty-loving and independent. The crusades, which 
commenced in 1099 under Urban II., greatly enriched 
these maritime towns, and it was then that Pisa, at the 
climax of her glory and splendor, built her famous 
Cathedral, Baptistery, and Leaning Tower. 

An assembly of one hundred and thirty bishops was 
called together by Pope Nicholas II. in 1060 to decide 
upon the election of the Pope by the cardinals, and 
after this time the Pope was recognized as the head of 
all the Latin churches in the West. Henceforth the 
Papacy was every priest's goal, and persons of every 
rank and of every degree of morality were placed in 
the Pontifical Chair. 

For some years before Henry III.'s death the 
Church of Rome had been under the guidance of 
Archbishop Hildebrand. The ability of this future 



The Republics 21 

great prelate, while he was still an unknown monk in 
Tuscany, was directed to the aggrandizement of the 
Church. He conceived in the solitude of his cloister 
a plan for subjugating the world to Papal power. A 
married priest was a criminal in his eyes ; and he also 
determined to stop the practice of simony. These were 
the two great causes of weakness in the Church; for 
marriage placed the priest on the same footing as other 
men, and the barter of office divested the clergy of the 
sacredness of their character. Up to this time the 
Pope had really been only a Universal Bishop, but 
now he received the name of Pope as a specific title, 
and was declared to be God's vice-gerent on earth, 
and a being too holy to sin. The Pope's influence 
soon became so arbitrary that no king could keep his 
throne without the consent of the Pontiflf; and finally 
" inauguration by the hand of His Holiness became 
essential to a title to the crown." This was called the 
" Right of Investiture." 

In the year 1073, after having refused the office a 
number of times, Hildebrand was appointed Pope as 
Gregory VII. His talents were of the highest order 
and his mind was deep and far-reaching. He and 
Henry IV. soon jcame into collision on the subject of 
the '' Right of Investiture." Henry IV. denounced 
the Pope, and the latter retaliated by excommunicating 
the king, a Council being called by the princes to 
elect another ruler. It was then that Henry IV. 
crossed the Alps, covered deep in ice and snow, to 
beg the angry Papal potentate to grant him pardon. 
Henry's deep humiliation at Canossa, the castle of 
the great Countess Mathilda of Tuscany, burned itself 
into the heart of the world for all time. 

Mathilda was the daughter of that Countess Beatrice 



22 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

whom Henry III., jealous of the united power estab- 
Hshed by her marriage with Godfrey of Lorraine, had 
kept in prison until his own death. Mathilda her- 
self became the wife of Godfrey's son, her stepbrother. 
Both she and her mother from the first had been enthu- 
siastic followers of the *' Cluny regime," which was 
Hildebrand's policy. This had found expression in the 
cloisters at Cluny in what was called the *' Tregua 
Dei" (The Truce of God), according to which all 
feuds in battle were forbidden from Wednesday even- 
ing until Monday morning. This had first been put in 
practice in the time of Henry HI. During the long 
conflict which followed, the Popes were never without 
shelter from violence so long as they could reach the 
protection of the Tuscan frontier ; for the fiefs of the 
great Countess Mathilda stretched from Mantua across 
Lombardy, passed the Apennines, included the Tuscan 
plains and embraced a portion of the Duchy of Spoleto. 

After Henry IV. had waited three days and three 
nights in the frost and snow outside in the court of 
Countess Mathilda's great castle, Gregory VII. ab- 
solved him, but in terms so degrading that the king 
returned to Germany to wait for a chance to reopen 
hostilities. At last, having fought the Pope intermit- 
tently for three years, this much injured sovereign 
routed Gregory's forces, supplied by the Countess 
Mathilda, and was crowned Emperor by Guibert, 
Archbishop of Ravenna, whom he had himself 
appointed Pope as Clement HI. 

Henry, however, was obliged to withdraw from 
Rome when Robert Guiscard's army returned from the 
East and entered the city to devastate, destroy and 
pillage. Gregory died in 1085 during a voluntary 
banishment among the Normans, uttering anathemas 



The Republics 23 

against Henry with his last breath, and saying : " I 
have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die 
in exile." After twenty years of fierce fighting with 
Gregory VII/s successors, Henry IV. was driven out 
of Italy and dethroned by his son, Henry V., dying in 
1 106 in poverty and exile. 

In 1 122, after a further struggle of fifteen years, 
there was a compromise called ** The Concordat of 
Worms," made between Henry V. and the Papal 
powers. The Pope ostensibly resigned the temporal 
and the Emperor really, the spiritual privileges of 
Investiture ; but the advantage was left with the Papal 
party; for the Pope became independent of the 
Emperor, while the Emperor's crown for several cen- 
turies came from the hand of the Pope. Countess 
Mathilda, when she died in 11 15, left the Church all 
her vast possessions; and from this time on, owing 
to her action, the Popes were elected by a Roman 
Council. Consequently the Holy See remained in the 
hands of the Italians, and became the great glory of 
the nation. 

During the three-quarters of a century that the 
struggle over Papal Investiture had been going on, 
Italy had not been standing still. The most conspicu- 
ous cities of northern and central Italy, Milan, 
Venice, Genoa, Bologna, Siena, and Perugia, had be- 
come flourishing republics, and the old feudal nobility 
was gradually passing away. This is said to have 
been the age of real autonomy. Popes and Emperors 
who needed the assistance of a city had to seek it from 
the consuls, and thus the office came to resemble the 
presidency of a commonwealth. A great council of 
privileged burghers, which for a time formed the 
aristocracy of the town, stood between the Parliament 



24 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

and the consuls, while the " Commune " included the 
entire body politic — ^bishops, consuls, oligarchy, hand- 
craftsmen and the poor. 

No sooner had the compromise of Investiture been 
concluded than the commonwealths turned their arms 
against each other, concordant action for a national 
end being impossible for many centuries. Pisa sought 
to destroy Amalfi ; Genoa and Florence attacked Pisa, 
and Venice fought Genoa, while Verona absorbed 
Padua, Treviso, etc. ; but Milan all the while was the 
great center of the republican cities of northern Italy, 
and it was she who soon engulfed the lesser towns of 
Lombardy. 

As the new republics increased in importance they 
needed more territory. This they wrested from the 
nobles, who in the course of a century were forced to 
leave their castles iand live in towns. They proved 
bad neighbors, and engendered such strife among the 
peaceable burghers that the war against the castles 
was changed to a war against the palaces. In turn the 
fortified residences defied the consuls; and this was 
the way the " Age of the Despots " commenced and the 
end of the republics came about. 

These turbulent forces produced a sympathetic 
revolution in Rome led by Arnold da Brescia, the 
" Patriarch of Pontifical Heretics," as he has been 
called, and the forerunner of all reformers. After hav- 
ing been exiled in 1139 on account of his bold censure 
of the clergy, he returned for the purpose of urging 
reforms in the government of Rome. This resulted 
in the proclaiming Rome a republic, with a civil sys- 
tem much like that of the republican cities of Lom- 
bardy. The Popes as they succeded each other wrote 
to Conrad III. to come down and quell the disturb- 



The Republics 25 

ances; but the king was too much occupied to inter- 
fere or to seek the sovereignty of Rome, and accord- 
ingly was never crowned as Emperor. 

It was in the time of the Saxon, Lothair I., Con- 
rad's predecessor, that the war between the Guelphs 
and GhibelHnes commenced, the former being the 
Church party and the latter the Emperor's faction. 
The Guelphs were named from Welf of Bavaria, de- 
scended from the old Welf, whose daughter was the 
wife of Louis the Pious; and the Ghibellines from 
Waibling, a castle of the original Hohenstaufen near 
Mount Staufen. The different factions were distin- 
guishable by different devices, the Ghibellines wearing 
the feather on their hats on one side, the Guelphs on 
the other, the Ghibellines cutting their meat crosswise, 
the Guelphs straight, etc. In this way crimes were 
often detected, one man being prosecuted on account 
of the way he sliced his garlic. 

In Conrad's time the excitement increased in vio- 
lence, and the war-cries " Guelph " and " Ghibelline " 
were first used. 

Frederick Barbarossa, the successor of Conrad III., 
was first called down into Italy in the interest of the 
town of Lodi, which was being oppressed by Milan. 
The Guelph party was now led by Milan and the 
Emperor's faction by Pavia; and, after a Diet held 
at Roncaglia near Piacenza, Barbarossa proceeded to 
destroy Asti, Chieri, Tunis and Tortona, because 
Pavia and the Marquis of Montferrat brought accusa- 
tions against them. Barbarossa was thereupon pre- 
sented with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia; 
and, though Milan had refused shelter and subsistence 
to his army, he was obliged, on account of the weak- 
ness of his forces, to temporarily ignore the slight. 



26 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

He now went on to Rome and, scorning the overtures 
of the new republic, he entered the Leonine City on 
the south side of the Tiber; and, calling back the 
exiled Pope Hadrian IV., he was crowned by him. In 
order, however, to effect this he was obliged to hand 
over to Pope Hadrian, Arnold da Brescia, who was 
burned alive in 1155 in the Piazza del Popolo. The 
Roman republic never recovered from that martyr's 
death, and it soon fell to pieces. 

Barbarossa's and Hadrian's quarrels then began, 
first about the provinces which Mathilda of Tuscany 
had given to the Church, and afterwards because 
Hadrian had confirmed William the Norman in his 
claim to the territory which Leo IX. had made over 
to the Normans as fiefs to the Emperor. Barbarossa 
even attempted to appropriate these southern prov- 
inces, but was driven back to Germany by the burning 
heat. 

In 1 158 Barbarossa returned to Italy and spent three 
years in trying to force Milan to yield. Year after 
year he ravaged her lands, taxed her people unmerci- 
fully and appointed judges called Podesta, who har- 
assed the inhabitants by their arbitrary proceedings. 
At last he besieged the city for nearly a year; and in 
1 161, having ordered all the inhabitants, even those 
sick unto death, to leave the town, he gave up the city 
to unlimited plunder, and after her total destruction 
he declared that the name of Milan should be blotted 
out. 

As soon as Barbarossa returned to Germany a 
league was formed against him by the citizens of 
northeastern Italy, Verona, Vincenza Padua, Treviso, 
and Venice, and in 1163, when he, with a brilliant staff 
of German knights^ again crossed the Alps, these 



The Republics 27 

towns refused to join his standard. Alexander IIL, 
in the meantime, had been elected on the side of the 
League, and an anti-Pope was set up by Barbarossa. 
Bergamo, Brescia, Mantua and Ferrara united with 
the first League and, receiving the addition of Milan, 
Lodi, Piacenza, Parma, Modena and Bologna, con- 
stituted the famous Lombard League. Afterwards 
Novara Vercelli, Como and Asti joined it, and between 
the Alps and the Apennines only Pavia and Mont- 
ferrat remained on the Imperialist side. Then Bar- 
barossa fled for his life across the Mont Cenis, his 
army having wasted away from pestilence ; and it was 
six years before he again ventured to set foot in Italy. 

In 1 168, during the Emperor's absence, the town of 
Alessandria had been built to check the power of Pavia 
and Montferrat. It was named after Alexander III., 
the enemy of Barbarossa. Ravenna, Rimini, Imola 
and Forli now joined the League, which was after- 
wards called '' The Society of Venice, Lombardy, The 
Marches, Romagna and Alessandria." 

Early in 11 76 Barbarossa once more went down into 
Italy with his army, to again take up the fight against 
the Lombard cities. Alessandria with its mud walls, 
which the Emperor had contemptuously declared were 
made of straw, stopped his progress, and he besieged 
it. But a force of the League already assembled at 
Modena obliged him to desist; and a small army met 
his troops on the plains of Legnano about fifteen miles 
from Milan. Here Barbarossa was so badly beaten 
that the battle-field was covered with his dead. The 
Emperor himself disappeared altogether; but three 
days after the battle he entered Pavia and opened 
negotiations with Pope Alexander. 

** For twenty-two years Barbarossa had been strug- 



28 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

gling against the independence of Lombardy, and with 
seven different armies had devastated her plains, exer- 
cising every degree of cruelty upon her inhabitants; 
but the fatal Battle of Legnano left him powerless;'' 
and in 1183, at the end of a truce of six years, the inde- 
pendence of Lombardy was guaranteed. At this time 
the united cities of the League were so powerful that 
they might have made themselves a great and pros- 
perous nation had they been in accord with one an- 
other. 



Guelphs and Ghibellines 29 



CHAPTER III 

HENRY VI. — FREDERICK II. — INNOCENT III. — BRANCA- 
LEONE. — MANFRED. — CHARLES OF ANJOU. 

1190—1280 A.D. 

WHEN the news reached Europe that the Infidels 
had taken Jerusalem, Frederick Barbarossa im- 
mediately set out on the third crusade; but he was 
seized with a stroke of apoplexy while crossing the 
little river Calycadmus in Syria and drowned. 

Pope Innocent HI., unwilling to have the southern 
part of Italy absorbed by Germany, opposed the nup- 
tials of Henry VI., Barbarossa's son, with Constance, 
heir to the Two Sicilies ; but in spite of this, after the 
death of Barbarossa and the decease of William II., 
the grandson of Roger II. and father of Constance, 
Henry VI. in 1190 inherited the vast power of both. 

Henry VI. proved to be a merciless monarch, and 
his reign was soon cut short, it is thought, by poison. 
His wife Constance also died, leaving a little son four 
years of age, who, after the temporary sovereignty of 
his uncle, Philip, was crowned as Frederick II., sole 
heir of Swabia and Sicily. The child, before his 
mother's death, had been made a ward of Pope Inno- 
cent HI. 

Meanwhile the Guelph and Ghibelline wars grew 
more and more bitter both in Italy and in Germany, 
the nobles defending themselves in their fortresses on 
the heights. In the recesses of these strongholds there 
was a donjon, or keep, where, in the last extremity, 
the lord of the castle retired with his family, friends 



30 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

and followers, and day and night armed men kept 
guard on the walls or in a watch-tower outside. We 
gather from the vine-covered ruins of these fastnesses, 
overlooking the fertile plains of Italy, that, though 
picturesque as relics, as homes they were dismal as 
prisons; and except for the romances of every-day 
existence these lords and ladies must have been de- 
prived of all the attractions which at present make the 
dwellings of Italy charming. 

In the cities political quarrels were often mixed up 
with family disputes. This was the case in Florence, 
where from 1115, the year that Countess Mathilda 
died, up to 12 15, there had been peace. At this time 
a feud broke out between the Buondelmonti and the 
Uberti families. The representative of the Buondel- 
monti, a young man of fashion and gentility, was en- 
gaged to a daughter of the Uberti ; but he deserted her 
for another fairer damsel, and one gala day her 
friends, indignant at the insult, murdered the youth 
in the public square of the city. All Florence inter- 
ested itself in this fatal quarrel, the Guelph party rally- 
ing round the Buondelmonti, and the Ghibellines sup- 
porting the Uberti; and thus the feud continued for 
thirty years, the Guelph and Ghibelline power alter- 
nating in Tuscany. 

It was at this same critical era that the Welf Otto, 
son of Henry the Lion, came to Italy and as Otto IV. 
received from Pope Innocent III. the crown of the 
Empire which really belonged to Frederick II. When, 
however, he tried also to establish his rights to the 
ever-disputed territory of Countess Mathilda, and to 
the Kingdom of Sicily for a long time united in fealty 
to the Holy See, Pope Innocent, who had hitherto 
thought little of the welfare of his ward, deserted Otto 



Guelphs and Ghibellines 31 

and supported the claims of Frederick to the Imperial 
crown. In this way His Holiness united with the 
Ghibellines, really the Emperor's faction; and at the 
same time Otto, the leader of the Guelph party, fought 
the Pope. The cities also supported their own candi- 
dates respectively, some Papal towns adhering to Otto 
and some Ghibelline cities joining Frederick, who was 
the Pope's candidate against the Guelph Emperor ; and 
thus the web and woof of Italian politics was twisted. 

Frederick IL, upheld by the forces of the Pope, slew 
Otto in the Battle of Bovines; and, though Innocent 
III. died soon after, Frederick II. was crowned as 
Emperor in 1220 by Honorius III. on condition that he 
should visit Palestine, divide the power by giving up 
Apulia and Sicily to his son Henry, and acknowledge 
his dependence on the Pope. 

As an ambitious and diplomatic Papal ruler Inno- 
cent III. ranks with Gregory VII. and Boniface VIII. 
It was he who first conceived the idea of the Papal 
States by seizing upon a territory in the center of Italy 
and making the control of it one of the special offices 
of the Pope. He executed his plans with the ability 
of a great statesman, gaining such power over the con- 
temporary sovereigns of Europe that they all feared 
him. For the purpose of stifling the spirit of inquiry 
among the people, he encouraged the Franciscan and 
Dominican friars, whose orders were just established; 
and, by raising the vexed question of the expediency 
of giving the communion cup to laymen, he created 
many schisms in the Church which lasted up to Lu- 
ther's time. 

Frederick II. was now the Emperor of the world and 
held the crown of Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Apulia, Ger- 
many, Burgundy and Jerusalem. The versatility of 



32 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

his character and comprehensiveness of his views made 
his reign one of the most remarkable of the age. He 
insisted on the obedience of law as the highest standard 
of justice; and accordingly the Kingdom of Sicily 
under his rule enjoyed exceptional prosperity. He 
surrounded himself with men of learning, adorned the 
city of Naples, established a University, and laid the 
foundation of the new Italian language, which has 
come down to us, he himself writing Italian poetry. 
He has been called the most cultivated monarch of 
those early times. Frederick's early training had made 
him skeptical and indifferent to the all-absorbing topic 
of the day, and, surrounded by everything calculated 
to fascinate the senses, he soon forgot his vow, made to 
Honorius, to set out on a crusade for the purpose of 
capturing the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the 
Infidels. But, smarting under the maledictions of the 
Pope, he at last leisurely prepared for the campaign. 

Meanwhile Honorius III. died and Gregory IX., his 
successor, tired of Frederick's vacillating course, ex- 
communicated him. Finally, weary of the unrest at 
home, Frederick set sail for Palestine in 1228, and 
landed at Jean d'Acre, where, through his marriage 
with lolanda, daughter of John of Brienne, the exiled 
King of Jerusalem, he claimed the temporal crown of 
the kingdom; and this he placed upon his own brow. 

The Pope was so angry at the blasphemy of a mon- 
arch's undertaking a crusade in the face of excom- 
munication, that he hurled another bull against him 
and sent an army to lay waste his territory. 

On his return from the crusade Emperor and Pope 
were reconciled ; but there were so many insurrections 
in the North that he was obliged to employ the 
infamous Ezzelino da Romano, together with his 



Guelphs and Ghihellines 33 

Saracen troops, in putting them down. He also 
defeated the Milanese and their allies at Corte Nuova 
in 1237, sending their Carroccio to Rome as a trophy. 
Gregory IX. now became so uneasy at the almost com- 
plete ruin of the Guelph party that he called Venice and 
G^noa to his aid, and, having for a third time excom- 
municated Frederick II., he incited his son Henry to 
rebel against his father. This so angered Frederick 
that wherever he could find the partisans of the Church 
he put them to death. 

The greatest drawback in the way of Frederick II.'s 
success was his contradictory character. ** He sur- 
rounded himself at the same time with skeptics 
and churchmen, Mohammedans and Christians, and 
endowed convents and monasteries, while he was per- 
secuting the defenders of the Church ; and as soon as 
he was excommunicated, he started out on his 
crusade." 

Gregory IX., not knowing what to do with this tur- 
bulent monarch, called together the famous Council at 
Meloria ; but the Emperor was equal to the emergency, 
and with his squadron intercepted the French Bishops, 
appropriated their treasure, and sent the captive prel- 
ates bound in silver chains to Pisa. This was too 
much for the disappointed Pope, and he soon died from 
grief and chagrin, leaving the Papacy to Innocent IV., 
a former friend of Frederick II. Summoning a great 
council of one hundred and forty bishops from all over 
Europe, Pope Innocent hurled the greatest Bull of 
Excommunication upon Frederick which had been cast 
upon anyone since the time of Gregory VII. In it he 
declared that the Emperor had sacrificed his rights as 
a sovereign and that his subjects no longer owed him 
allegiance. Thus, though wearing five crowns, Fred- 



34 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

erick IL henceforth led a doomed existence; for now 
he was surrounded on all sides by conspiracies, besides 
being maligned on account of the dark doings of his 
execrable vicar, Ezzelino da Romano ; but fortunately, 
the latter, after having laid waste numberless prov- 
inces and committed murders by the thousand, was 
overcome by a united force of Guelphs and Ghibellines 
and slain. 

At last as a final blow his favorite son Enzio was 
imprisoned at Bologna, where he never again saw the 
light of day, dying twenty years later. There was a 
slight alleviation to the melancholy of this persecuted 
monarch at the time when the news that Florence had 
fallen into the hands of the Ghibellines reached his ears. 
He struggled on five years longer, dying in his Apulian 
castle of Fiorentino in 1250, a broken-hearted old man, 
although in fact but fifty-six years old. The power 
of the Ghibellines declined at his death, after having 
lasted a hundred years, and his reign closed the epoch 
of German Imperial rule in Italy. 

Innocent IV. rejoiced at the death of this accom- 
plished monarch, his friend of earlier years ; and on his 
return to Rome he made the Ghibelline faction quake, 
by taking the ground that the Kingdom of Naples now 
rightfully belonged to the Papacy. In accordance with 
this view he made a war on Frederick's heirs which 
lasted eighteen years. Conrad IV., Frederick's suc- 
cessor, died in 1254, during the contest, leaving an 
infant son. 

Innocent IV.'s influence, although it increased 
greatly, found in Brancaleone of Andalo, Count of 
Casalecchio, a Ghibelline opponent of much energy. 
This remarkable statesman, who won the respect of 
all posterity, before accepting the office of Senator in 



Giielphs and Ghibellines 35 

1252, made definite terms to hold the government of 
Rome for three years, demanding that hostages for 
his safety should be sent to Bologna from the noblest 
Roman houses. Pope Innocent IV., being then absent 
at Perugia, could do nothing, and Brancaleone grasped 
the power firmly. He was the head of the republic in 
peace and war, appointed the Podestas in the adjoining 
territory subject to Rome, despatched ambassadors, 
concluded treaties and issued coins. The Parliament 
met in the square of the Capitol, and the Council in the 
Church of Aracoeli. Unfortunately, like most of the 
old Roman records, those pertaining to the proceedings 
of this body are lost ; and it is only known that Branca- 
leone did not observe great ceremony, convoking the 
Councils as seldom as possible, but assembling the 
Parliament of the people frequently. He made the 
clergy respect the rights of the citizens, and put down 
the turbulent nobles with a high hand. He attacked 
their fortresses and leveled one hundred and forty 
strongholds, suspending some of the occupants on their 
own battlements. Brancaleone told Innocent IV., who 
had later fled in terror to Assisi, that he would burn him 
out if he did not return to Rome. 

In order to assist the people guilds were organized, 
the chief of these being admitted into the Councils of 
the republic as early as 1267. Brancaleone was the 
first Senator who took the title of "Romani Populi 
Capitanus." 

After Innocent IV.'s death, and the election of Alex- 
ander IV., the clergy rebelled against his iron rule and 
the nobles grew more uneasy under their fancied 
wrongs, so that at the end of his three years' term of 
office Brancaleone was thrown into prison ; and, except 
for the hostages which he had required at first, his life 



36 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

would have been sacrificed. As it was, in 1257 ^^^ 
Guilds arose, and recalled him for another three years. 

Brancaleone made an alliance with the son of Fred- 
erick II., Manfred, who was then in command of the Im- 
perial forces in Sicily and acting as king for his brother 
Conrad IV. Soon after the death of Conrad, Manfred 
joined the Ghibelline party under Farinata degli Uberti. 

Florence had gained great power in Tuscany under 
the government of the Guelphs, who, after having been 
driven out by young Frederick, the natural son of 
Frederick II., had now come back. The Guelphs of 
Genoa and Modena, and even of Lombardy, united with 
that party in Tuscany, and in 1260 they all met on the 
battle-field of Monte Aperto. The contest was unde- 
cided for a long time, until the Guelph cavalry was 
betrayed by Bocca degli Abati, who went over to the 
Ghibellines, and the day was lost. A large number of 
the citizens were slain, and Florence herself, falling 
into the hands of the Ghibellines, the Caroccio was 
taken and a council was called to destroy the city. 
Although Farinata had in the beginning enlisted Man- 
fred to help against Florence, he held the city in her 
danger dearer than his party. He said that he would 
not suffer his country to be destroyed while he could 
wield a sword, and begged so hard for her that 
Florence was finally saved. Dante, in his " Inferno," 
is supposed to have met Farinata in the Infernal 
Regions, where, among other things, 

**He said and shook his mournful head, 
I 'In these things was not I alone, nor could 
Without grave reason be by others led, 

But I stood sole, when all consenting would 
Have swept off Florence from the earth ; 

Alone and openly in her defence I stood.'" 



Guelphs and Ghibellines 37 

For a time the power of the Guelphs in Tuscany and 
throughout all Italy was at an end, and Manfred held 
great power at the head of the Ghibellines. Branca- 
leone now ruled more sternly than ever in Rome, and 
became odious to Pope Alexander, who excommuni- 
cated him; that same year, in 1258, while engaged 
on the Siege of Corneto, Brancaleone was attacked by 
a violent fever, and, being carried to Rome, died on 
the Capitoline Hill. 

Alexander IV. died in 126 1 and was succeeded by a 
French Pope under the title of Urban IV. The choice 
for Emperor now lay between Alphonso X. of Castile 
and Richard, Earl of Cornwall, brother of Henry III. 
of England. Pope Urban IV. ignored both candidates 
and offered the crown to Louis IX. of France. The 
latter had too much dignity to meddle with things out- 
side his own province, but, in 1265, he assisted his 
unscrupulous brother, Charles of Anjou, with men and 
money to undertake the conquest of Naples. 

The Count of Anjou was cruel and ambitious, as 
well as unprincipled, and very wealthy through his 
wife, Beatrice, daughter of the Count of Provence, in 
whose right he held that country. Hers was a family 
of queens, and it was thought that her ambition spurred 
her husband on. Urban IV. and the Guelph party 
had agreed to the election of Charles as Senator of 
Rome, on condition that as king he should hold Sicily 
and Naples only as a fief from the Pope ; and Urban, 
remembering how Henry VI. and Frederick II. had 
circumscribed the Church on the north and south, 
told Charles that when he obtained Naples he must 
relinquish the Senatorship of Rome, and must in the 
meantime acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope 
over the Senate. Although appearing to agree to 



38 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

everything, Charles of Anjou intended to keep the 
Senatorship for life; and in addition to this, he suc- 
ceeded in obtaining the Vicarship of Tuscany. 

Before matters were settled Urban IV. died ; and his 
successor, Clement IV., crowned Charles of Anjou 
King of the Two Sicilies in the Church of St. John in 
Lateran. At the Battle of Grandella, on the 26th of 
February, 1266, Manfred was deserted by many of the 
Italian Ghibellines, and finally when his army fled, he 
was slain, the success of Charles of Anjou's followers, 
the Guelph Angevines, being assured. The Guelphs 
who had been driven out at the Battle of Monte 
Aperto now returned, and Charles was elected Signor 
of Florence for two years. Pisa, envious of Florence, 
threw her influence on the side of the Ghibellines to 
bring forward young Conradin, the only heir to the 
House of Sicily and the last of the Hohenstaufen. 

Notwithstanding the counsels of his mother, Con- 
radin sold the most of his possessions in Germany, and 
though a mere lad, collected all the troops he could 
gather in that country. Reinforced by a large num- 
ber of exiled Ghibellines and disaffected Sicilians, he 
crossed the Alps into Italy with ten thousand soldiers. 
At first the fair-haired boy defeated the army of 
Charles of Anjou; but at Tagliacozzo, in 1268, the vic- 
tory was lost because, confident of success, Conradin's 
troops stopped to plunder the enemy. 

Charles of Anjou had been for a time obliged to give 
up the Senatorship at Rome, a democratic govern- 
ment being formed, consisting of twenty-six " boni 
homines," with Angelo Capocci, a Ghibelline, as cap- 
tain, while Don Henry, son of Henry III. of Castile, 
was elected Senator. The latter kept the clergy down 
and subdued the rough element of the Campagna, and, 



Guelphs and Ghibellines 39 

throwing the Guelph nobles into disorder, he made an 
alliance with the Tuscan Ghibellines. Don Henry 
drove back the troops of Charles, and when Conradin 
came he gave him a hearty welcome. But after 
the Battle of Tagliacozzo Charles was again elected 
Senator for ten years, and, Conradin having been 
betrayed into his hands, he had him put to death in a 
most barbarous manner. Anjou has been called " The 
Exterminator of the Hohenstaufen." 

Charles of Anjou would now have been master of 
the whole of Italy, and might have been crowned as 
Emperor, had not Gregory X. enlisted Rudolph of 
Hapsburg, the founder of the Hapsburg House in Ger- 
many, to assist him. The agreement was that Rudolph, 
as Emperor, should abstain from any interference in 
Italy, and that he should confirm the territorial pre- 
tensions of the Pope by a charter. In accordance 
with this arrangement, in 1276 Emilia, Romagna, the 
March of Ancona, the Patrimony of St. Peter and the 
Campagna of Rome belonged to the Holy See, and 
not to the Empire. These were the States of the 
Church which swore allegiance to the Pope, and 
stamped his image on their coins ; and ever after this 
the Popes were landed proprietors. 

Nicholas III., who succeeded Gregory X., took away 
from Charles of Anjou the Vicarship of Tuscany and 
the Senatorship of Rome, and, raising the Ghibelline 
power, persuaded Rudolph of Hapsburg to surrender 
all titles to the lands of Countess Mathilda. 

Italy was now divided into three portions, the King- 
dom of Naples in the south under Charles of Anjou; 
the Papal States, which contained seventeen thousand 
square miles and a population of several millions in 
the center of Italy; while Rudolph of Hapsburg con- 



40 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

sidered the northen portion peculiarly his own, since 
he never meddled with the rest. 

At the time of the ascendancy of the Guelphs in 1276, 
the constitution of Florence assumed the form which 
it was destined to hold for many years. The citizens 
were divided into Guilds or Arts, as the trade organi- 
zations of Florence were called at that time. Each 
Art had its own council of six priors and its leader or 
Gonfaloniere, who all held office two months and ate 
at the same table and lived in the Palazzo Pubblico. 
There were twelve of these Arts in which the power 
was placed, and which were made the foundation of 
the constitution. The criminal court was under the 
supervision of both the Podesta and the Captain of 
the People. 

Florence had now no rival among Italian cities, and 
her location was unsurpassed in loveliness. She had 
become vastly populous and had gained great wealth 
and renown through her commerce, the Florentine 
fabrics being in the greatest demand in the European 
markets for three hundred years. 



Contentions of the Republics 41 



CHAPTER IV 

VENICE, PISA, GENOA. — COLONNA AND ORSINI. — SICILIAN 
VESPERS. — THE NERI AND BIANCHI. — ^DANTE. 

1280—1310 A.D. 

VENICE, in the beginning a collection of scattered 
islands, had gradually assumed considerable im- 
portance; but she never came into political notice 
outside her own limits until 1237, when the cruel 
execution of Frederick Tiepolo, the Podesta of Milan 
and son of their Doge, aroused the Venetians and in- 
cited them to join the Lombard League. 

From this time the Venetian republic made rapid 
strides in wealth and power, and attained great re- 
nown. Her government has been handed down as 
one of the most remarkable bodies in history. It was 
much like the administration in Florence, only that 
the Doges, nominated in the general assembly of the 
citizens, kept their position for life, assisted by six 
priors, it being stipulated that no Doge should associate 
his son in the government. At first there was only 
the Great Council, which consisted of the higher 
nobles and the lesser nobles; but the people, being 
denied all voice in municipal proceedings, became dis- 
satisfied. Accordingly a legislature was organized, 
composed of four hundred and eighty delegates, and 
a constitution was formed. 

In 1 301 the famous " Council of Ten " was insti- 
tuted, which kept the people enslaved by the nobles. 
This Council united with the Doge and his priors, 
and held despotic power for a great number of years. 



42 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Its object was the ferreting out and punishing of 
crime. 

At the height of her glory Venice held dominion 
over three-eighths of the old Roman Empire ; and for 
half a century Genoa, aided by Greece, and Venice, by 
Pisa, were engaged in incessant strife, fighting over 
the spoils brought in from the Eastern world. It was 
the crusades which built up the commerce of Venice 
in the East, and brought into Europe much of the 
luxury of Oriental splendor; since her ships, after 
transporting troops to Palestine, came back laden 
with products from the Orient. 

About I200 A.D.^ at the time of the fourth crusade 
under Innocent III., in which Venice took so great a 
part, the Venetian fleet conquered Constantinople and 
kept it for forty-seven years; and besides this, many 
islands were at this time ceded to her. The same old 
palaces then inhabited by the wealthy families who 
engaged in the commerce of that era are still seen on 
the Grand Canal. 

Genoa and Pisa, which had been contending for 
many years for supremacy, in 1284 engaged in a final 
struggle. When a large part of the Pisan fleet was 
destroyed by a tempest, Genoa rejoiced; and when the 
Genoese navy captured more Pisan galleys, on their 
way to Sardinia, the great bells in the lofty tower 
of Maria in Carignano sounded forth their chimes 
more gaily than ever. Finally the large Genoese 
fleet outnumbered the three hundred Pisan galleys at 
the mouth of the Arno, and triumphed over the Pisans 
at the Battle of Meloria, the same place where forty 
years before Frederick 11. had made his famous 
seizure of the whole Council of Bishops. Eleven 
thousand inhabitants were captured in this battle and 



Contentions of the Republics 43 

many more were drowned. Ten thousand Pisan 
prisoners perished in the dungeons of Genoa during 
the next half score of years; and it came to be a 
saying : " If you would see the Pisans you must go to 
Genoa." 

All the Guelph cities assisted in the final destruction 
of Pisa, and from this time her decline was rapid. At 
last she was betrayed by Count Gheradesca, the ad- 
miral of the Pisan navy, who had sought to confirm 
his own power by making terms secretly with the 
Florentines. The city was plunged into civil war 
and the great bells sounded. The party opposed to 
Gheradesca was victorious, and on the ist of July, 
1288, after a day's fighting, the Count and his two 
sons were cast into a tower known as the " Tower 
of the Seven Streets," or " The Tower of Famine." 
Here they were left to die of hunger. Their suffering 
is one of the topics in Dante's ^* Divina Commedia." 
The Pisans for many years still exhibited the effects 
of continuous crushing defeat. 

The Sicilians, being tired of Charles of Anjou and 
his provincial troops, John of Procida put himself at 
the head of a conspiracy to arouse the people and 
exterminate French power from the island. He was 
assisted by both Emperor Michael of Constantinople 
and Peter, King of Aragon, who by marriage was 
entitled to the throne of Naples. 

In the year 1282, as the citizens of Palermo were 
celebrating Easter Monday, a beautiful girl of high 
rank was insulted by a French soldier. The con- 
spirators, only awaiting an occasion for an uprising, 
pierced the miscreant to the heart with their daggers. 
The tolling vesper bells seemed to be counting out 
the hour of retribution for the long-practiced cruel- 



44 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

ties of the French rulers; and, as the cry of agony- 
arose, the crowd of thousands formed itself into a 
mob which took possession of the city. A general 
slaughter of the French followed ; and in the morning 
not one out of the thousands of resident French had 
escaped. The work did not cease here; but all the 
French in Sicily were utterly exterminated " in this 
great flame of insurrection," the horrible massacre 
being handed down as the " Sicilian Vespers/' 

Charles of Anj'ou was compelled to retire from 
Messina by Peter of Aragon, who was anchored in 
the harbor. Anjou's whole fleet, which, was ready 
for the Greek War, was destroyed; so that, although 
assisted by Philip the Bold and Pope Martin IV., he 
was never able to recover his lost dominion before his 
death in 1286. During the next twenty years the 
Spanish Ghibellines in Sicily and Apulia were ruled 
by Peter of Aragon and his sons, while the French 
Angevin House reigned in Naples, supported by the 
Guelphs. 

Since the expiration of Charles of Anjou's Sena- 
torship of ten years in Rome, the Colonna, Savelli, 
Orsini, Anabaldi and other Roman nobles had held 
the power, much to the detriment of the republic; 
and when the fame of the Sicilian Vespers reached 
the city the Orsini rose in arms, massacred the French 
garrison and re-established a popular government. 

In 1294 the Cardinal Colonna refused to acknowl- 
edge Pope Boniface VIII., because the latter, in order 
to raise his own faction to power, opposed the Colonna 
family, then in power, and excommunicated them. For 
a time Pope Boniface succeeded in keeping down their 
influence, until at last, at the instigation of William 
Nogari and Sciarra Colonna, the Pontiff was impris- 



Contentions of the Republics 45 

oned at Anagni and treated with such violence that, 
in 1303, he died of grief at the humihation. 

On account of the violence of the extreme faction, 
the Guelphs in Florence had separated in 1300, the 
Bianchi or Whites, the moderate portion, developing 
into Ghibellines. The quarrels of these parties had 
risen so high, that Boniface VIII. felt obliged to 
summon Charles of Valois, brother of Philip the Fair 
of France. In 1301 Charles of Valois was joined by 
Corso Donati, and with the French cavalry laid waste 
everything within reach; and afterwards the former 
advanced to Sicily to support the Guelphs against 
Frederick of Aragon. 

In the course of these dissensions Dante, who was 
of the moderate Guelph party, the Bianchi, was driven 
into exile and, through the tragedy of his sufferings, 
produced his immortal poem, the " Divina Commedia." 
This religious epic treats of Paradise, Purgatory and 
an Inferno, and describes Dante as visiting these places 
and talking with such of his countrymen as were noted 
for good and evil deeds. It is pronounced one of 
the greatest productions of human genius; and in it 
the principal characters in the awful scenes enacted 
at this era in Italy are painted in ineffaceable colors. 

Dante's mind was greatly influenced by a certain 
religious revival in the Church; since at this time 
Boniface VIII. had set apart the year 1300 as the first 
secular Jubilee, at the same time granting to all Chris- 
tians, who should make pilgrimages to the holy places 
of Rome, divine peace and mercy. In this way the 
custom originated of making the last year of each 
century the occasion of special religious solemnities. 
The overwhelming excitement at this time brought out 
so great a number of the faithful that the old bridge 



46 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of St. Angelo had to be divided by a barrier to separate 
the crowds going in different directions to St. Peter's 
and St. Paul's, many thousands besides the "Divine 
Poet '^ being stirred to noble thoughts and actions. 

Dante's is the first great name in literature after the 
" night of the Dark Ages." He was born under the 
sign of the Geminf, which astrologers considered fav- 
orable to literature and science. In the " Inferno " 
we learn that his instructor, Brunetto Latini, told him 
that if the guidance of this constellation were followed 
it would lead him to everlasting fame. While yet a 
boy Dante had prepared himself for his great work 
by the study of Virgil, Horace, Ovid and also by 
theological research. 

The great poet had first met Beatrice Portinari at 
the house of her father, in 1274, when they were both 
nine years of age. Although he never spoke with her 
personally but once or twice, and she knew little of 
his devotion to her, until the end of his life her beauty 
was his glory, her memory his solace, and her image 
his guiding star; and after her death he writes in his 
" Vita Nuova" : " It was given to me to see a beautiful 
and wonderful vision, which determined me to say 
nothing until I could write more worthily concerning 
her what hath not been written of any woman/' 

Florence had enjoyed uninterrupted peace after the 
Battle of Monte Aperto, in 1228, until January 11, 
1289, when, at the Battle of Campaldino, the Ghibel- 
lines were defeated. Dante proved his manhood in 
fighting both there and at Caprona. Then he returned 
to his studies and to the meditations of his love; but 
in 1290 Beatrice died. Dante was a skilled draughts- 
man, and on the anniversary of that day he drew an 
angel on her tombstone. 




Dante and Beatrice. 



Contentions of the Republics 47 

Beatrice had become the wife of Simeone di Bardi, 
and, in 1292, after her death Dante, won by sympathy 
and kindness, married the daughter of Corso Donati. 
In spite of rumors to the contrary there is Httle doubt 
that Gemma, the mother of his seven children, was an 
affectionate wife; but for some reason or other she 
was never with him in his exile, and he left her out 
altogether in his "Divina Commedia." Her father, 
Corso Donati, became Dante's bitter political enemy 
in the strife then pending. 

Dante was inscribed in the " Art of the Medici and 
Speziali,'' which made him eligible as one of six 
priors to whom the government was entrusted in 1282. 
Documents still exist in Florence showing that he took 
part in the Council of the city in 1295 ; and from June 
till August of 1300 he held the office of prior. 

On January 27, 1302, Dante, with three others 
charged with embezzlement, was compelled to pay a 
fine of five thousand liras; and on March 10, for 
political reasons, he and fourteen other condemned 
persons were exiled from Tuscany for two years, and 
sentenced to be burned alive if found within the limits 
of the republic. All the exiles met at a castle called 
Garganza, between Siena and Arezzo, and Dante went 
from there to Verona and placed himself in the care 
of Bartholomeo Scala, whose son Can Grande was then 
a boy. An ill-advised attempt on the part of his com- 
panions to storm Florence disclosed to Dante their 
incapacity and baseness. Then, in his contempt for 
them, he became independent of the Bianchi in whose 
ranks he had been born and bred. Standing thus 
alone, he for the first time realized the bitterness of 
banishment. 

Though at first people thought of Dante only as an 



48 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

exiled politician, he had, before he ever entered politics, 
written his " Vita Nuova/' the song of his love for 
Beatrice, and other poems, so that often when he was 
going along the streets of Florence, as Boccaccio tells 
it, he heard the blacksmith at his anvil and the men 
driving their mules singing his verses. When they 
did not quote his lines correctly, he would stop them on 
the street, chide them and tell them they were spoiling 
his work. 

After the first years of Dante's exile, spent in trying 
to return to Florence, it dawned on him that " the sun 
still rose and set outside his beloved city " ; and he 
wandered from castle to castle and from monastery to 
monastery, until little by little he began to think of 
other things. His hopes failed at the untimely death 
of Henry VH., whom he had looked forward to as the 
deliverer of Italy ; and when Corso Donati, his father- 
in-law, with whom he had become reconciled, was 
attacked and killed in 1308, after joining the Ghibel- 
lines, his courage entirely gave way. 

Many cities and castles in Italy have claimed the 
honor of giving Dante refuge and being for a time the 
home of his Muse. Dante himself says : " Through 
almost every land where the Italian language is spoken 
a wanderer I have gone, showing against my will the 
wounds of fortune." The Ghibelline leader Uguc- 
cione at one time offered him shelter way up in the 
mountains of Urbino ; and, after visiting the Univer- 
sity of Bologna, Dante retired to the Castle of Moro- 
ello Malaspina, where the ''marble mountains of the 
Apennines descend precipitously" to the Gulf of 
Spezia. 

Dante, when he received the news of his exile, was 
absent on a diplomatic expedition to Rome, and in the 



Contentions of the Republics 49 

succeeding troublous times the old home opposite the 
Church of San Martino, which to-day bears the inscrip- 
tion, " The House where Dante was born/' was 
broken up. Gemma, provident housekeeper that she 
was, hastily collected all the manuscripts and fugitive 
poems, put them together in a separate box, without 
any particular reference to their value, and sent them 
with other possessions to neutral friends. Years 
after, when comparative security prevailed, Gemma, 
with the help of Dante's nephew, Andrea, a young 
man who much resembled his uncle, collected her scat- 
tered treasures. The latter happened to open the chest 
in which Dante's writings had been packed, and dis- 
covered seven cantos of the " Divina Commedia," 
written in Italian. 

Dante had not forgotten these, but, too sorrowful to 
think of intellectual pursuits, he had given up com- 
pleting the work. His nephew, Andrea, who deserves 
the recognition of all posterity for this service, took the 
seven cantos to literary critics. These all agreed as 
to their merits, and a copy was sent to Dante in his 
mountain monastery above Spezia. Then the poet set 
himself to finish the work. He occupied two years in 
writing the '* Inferno," which he dedicated to his host 
Malaspina. He devoted two years also to each of the 
others, the "Purgatorio" and the " Paradiso." The 
former he wrote at Pisa and dedicated to Uguccione, 
the " Paradiso " at Verona, dedicated to Can Grande 
della Scala, whose hospitality he enjoyed for a number 
of years. To him he sent before publishing them all 
of the cantos except the last thirteen, which were 
written after differences arose between them. These 
cantos were sought for unavailingly after his death, 
until one of his two sons, who had lived with him in 



50 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

his last retreat at Ravenna, by means of a dream dis- 
covered their hiding-place behind a secret panel, 
covered with dust, cobwebs and mold. Dante would 
not send these to his offended patron, and could not 
bear to publish them without first submitting them to 
the arbiter of all the rest. 

After Dante separated from Can Grande, he visited 
Paris and went to Holland, crossing over to England. 
Still he longed for Florence, and " lingered upon the 
Umbrian Hills, where the horizon closed over his 
home." Once he had an opportunity to return; for 
at the Festival of St. John certain criminals and pol- 
itical offenders were granted pardon, on condition of 
paying a fine and offering themselves to the care of that 
Saint. Dante's friends made a strenuous effort to 
induce him to accept this way of ending his exile ; but 
he scorned the humiliating favor, saying : " If by this 
means only I can return to Florence, she shall never 
again be entered by me." 

Boccaccio tells us that after Dante had written his 
" Inferno " he appeared one day to Fra Ilario, prior of 
the Monastery of Santa Croce del Corvo, asking for 
peace. Fra Ilario recognized the stranger as no other 
than Dante, who on leaving drew from his bosom a 
little book and gave it to the prior as a memorial. It 
was the '' Inferno." Fra Ilario was much surprised to 
see so arduous a task accomplished in Italian, and asked 
Dante why he had written it in the vulgar tongue. 
The reply was that, having seen the songs of the most 
illustrious poets neglected, he had thought it best to 
adapt this great work to the " understanding of the 
modems." In this way he confirmed the classic Italian 
which Frederick II. had first established in Sicily and 
made the court language. 



Contentions of the Republics 51 

Boccaccio describes Dante somewhat as follows: 
" Dante was of middle height and stooped when he 
walked, and his aspect was grave and quiet. His face 
was long, he had an aquiline nose and his eyes were 
large. His complexion was dark, his hair and beard 
thick, black and curly, and his countenance was always 
melancholy. So it happened one day in Verona after 
his works were already known and his face familiar 
to many, that he passed before a house where several 
women were seated ; and one said softly : * Did you 
notice him who goes to hell and returns again when 
he likes, and brings back news of the people down 
below.' Another woman replied : * You speak the 
truth, for see how scorched his beard is and how dark 
he is from the heat and smoke.' When Dante heard 
this and saw that the women believed it he was pleased 
and amused and went on his way with a smile." 

It is pleasant to think that the last days of this great, 
but sad poet were passed in peace at the home of his 
friend Guido di Polenta, among the high houses of the 
same shady street in Ravenna opposite which one 
to-day sees his tomb. ^' Here all the world was tender 
to the poet." Here, withdrawn from all possibility 
of a sight of Florence, he gave up his deferred hope 
and was able to sink back into the melancholy old city 
with its mournful mosaics, almost as much older than 
Giotto as that painter is older than the artists of the 
present day. Here he was comforted by his two sons, 
Pietro and Jacopo, and spent much time in correspond- 
ence with his far-off friends. 

Guido of Polenta treated Dante with great considera- 
tion, giving him the place of honor at his table and 
sending him on important missions. 

Once he received an invitation to go to Bologna to 



52 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

accept the Crown of Poetry. He replied : " If ever I 
am crowned at all it shall be within the solemn walls 
of the * Bel San Giovanni/ " the church which Dante 
had never ceased to love. He wrote, '' Sweet would it 
be to decorate my head with the crown of laurel in 
Bologna, but sweeter still in my own country, if ever 
I return there, hiding my white hair beneath the 
leaves/' 

On returning from a mission to Venice, Dante 
caught a fever among the marshes, and in the month 
of September in the year 1321, when he was fifty-six 
years of age, he died at Ravenna. 

Florence at first made no sign of penitence ; but " to 
her shame one day she aw^oke to her glory " in his 
unrivaled greatness. She waited long for the people 
of Ravenna to give him up ; and she built him a beauti- 
ful monument in the Church of Santa Croce, a sar- 
cophagus bearing the words : '' Dante Alighieri, il 
Divino Poeta," etc. ; but it is still empty. In the square 
outside his statue rises in almost divine benignity; 
and as one looks upon the penciled features it is not 
hard to understand how such wonderful creations 
could spring from a soul so harassed and persecuted. 



Age of the Despots 53 



CHAPTER V 

THE AGE OF THE DESPOTS. — THE CONDOTTIERI AND THE 
FREE COMPANIES. — PETRARCH, BOCCACCIO, GIOTTO, 
CIMABUE. — RIENZI. 

1310—1354 A.D. 

IT was in the time of Clement V., in the year 1309, 
that the Holy See was moved to Avignon. This was 
the home of the Popes for the seventy-five years 
known as the " Babylonian Captivity." The Papal 
Palace built in Clement V.'s time was for many years 
used as a soldiers' barracks, and resounded to the 
revelry of the troops of France. Recently, however, 
the relic has been restored and transformed into a 
museum. 

Since the death of Frederick H. no German had 
claimed the crown of Italy; but in 1310 Henry VH. 
crossed the Alps for the purpose of putting down the 
Guelphs. It was the sound of his coming that had so 
thrilled Dante's heart. At first all the nobles and 
leaders rushed to his standard, the Ghibellines receiv- 
ing him as though belonging to them, and many of the 
Guelphs, because the. Pope favored him. When, how- 
ever, it was apparent that he intended to put down the 
rebellious independence of the Italian cities, the strong 
Guelph influence predominated against him and nothing 
was accomplished except the recall of a few exiles, 
Dante being emphatically mentioned among the excep- 
tions. Rome also was opposed to Henry VII. and 
called to her assistance Robert of Naples, the grandson 



54 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of Charles of Anjou, so that Henry had to be crowned 
in St. John in Lateran instead of in the Vatican. 

Henry VII. made an alliance with Frederick of 
Aragon against Florence and the King of Naples, and 
while he was besieging Florence, during three months, 
a third wall was built around the city for protection. 

Henry VH. had already established the power of the 
Visconti in Milan and subjected Brescia and Cremona; 
and he seemed about to gain the ascendancy in Italy 
when, as he was marching up the country from Pisa 
with a powerful army in the August of 13 13, he sud- 
denly died, poisoned in the communion cup in which 
his coronation had at last been consecrated. He was 
buried in Pisa, which had always been faithful to him. 
This was the last attempt of the German rulers to 
receive the Imperial crown, although they still kept 
up the title. Dante in his " Monarchia " strongly ex- 
pressed the disrespect of the Italian people for the 
German rulers and for the empty epithet of Emperor. 

In the beginning the Ghibellines were on the side 
of the Empire, and the Guelphs in favor of the Church ; 
but later the Florentines were equally indififerent to 
Church and Emperor, unless they worked for her inter- 
ests ; and " all parties confiscated right and left, whether 
they called themselves Guelphs or Ghibellines, Neri 
or Bianchi, or later Albizzi and Medici, Arrabbiati or 
Piagnoni." This struggle, however, between Guelphs 
and Ghibellines had a powerful influence on all subse- 
quent Italian history, since it proved to be a contention 
between old fossilized institutions and progress. 

In the first half of the fourteenth century the nobles 
were men of arms by profession. After the downfall 
of Ezzelino of Romano the lords of Pisa, Florence, 
Genoa and Bologna got the upper hand and were 



Age of the Despots 55 

foremost as leaders in " The Age of the Despots." 
The ScaHgeri rose in Verona, the Carraresi in Padua, 
the Castrucci in Lucca, the Estensi in Ferrara, and in 
Ravenna the Polenta family ruled. At Rimini the 
Malatesta, and at Parma the Rossi, at Piacenza the 
Scotti, at Faenza the Manfredi, in Genoa the Doria 
and Spinola were the despots, while all the time the 
Visconti ruled the Milanese. These, together with 
Robert of Naples and Pope John XXIL, were contend- 
ing for supremacy. 

A story of the Polenta family immortalized by 
Dante in his " Inferno " is one of the most tragic in his- 
tory. Francesca da Rimini, the beautiful daughter of 
Giovanni da Polenta of Ravenna, had been given in 
marriage to his efficient general, Giovanni Malatesta of 
Rimini, who was brave, but deformed and ugly. The 
heart of Francesca was won by the brother, Paolo the 
Handsome, and Dante tells the rest : 

"One day for our delight we read of Lancelot, 
How him love enthralled. 
The book and writer both were love's purveyors, 
In its leaves that day we read no more." 

Giovanni, jealous of his brother, murdered them both. 
This happened in Pesaro in 1284. 

The government of all the Guelph cities was much 
like that of Florence. A Council of the party was in 
time added to the General Council and the Parliament ; 
and the office of consul gradually yielded to the priors 
chosen from the Arts and Guilds ; but the Gonfaloniere 
of Justice alone held a check upon the despotic nobles. 
The office of Podesta was taken by a judge, an autocrat 
who decided all civic questions and declared war. 

In Rome the nobles removed Henry VII.'s officers 



56 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

and put Sciarra Colonna and Francesco Orsini in 
power as Senators. But the people rose and, driving 
these out, elected Jacob Arlotti Captain, with twenty- 
six " boni homines." He cast the nobles into prison 
and demolished their strongholds, so that a civil war 
ensued, during which one noble family united with the 
Ghibelline party and another with the Guelphs; and 
the Orsini, the Colonna, the Velletri, the Savelli and 
the Gaetani fought in their turn. There are many 
interesting stories connected with these noble families, 
and many romances resulting from the opposite houses 
joining their fortunes in forbidden marriages. 

The Orsini and Colonna were the most noted among 
these cliques, their families being foes for two hundred 
and fifty years. Jealousy with regard to position was 
the ground of their quarrel, since glory redounded to 
each alike ; and besides this, they belonged to opposite 
parties, the Guelphs and Ghibellines respectively. 

The " Ursini " migrated from Spoleto in the twelfth 
century. They were the sons of Ursus, who was at 
one time Senator in Rome, and styled the father of 
their race. Soon the number and bravery of their 
kinsmen, the strength of their fortifications, their 
honor as statesmen, and the elevation of two of them, 
Celestin III. and Nicholas III., increased their emolu- 
ments, Nicholas III. giving the estates belonging to 
the Church to the Orsini family. Earlier their power 
had been increased by the marriage of Ursus' son to 
a daughter of the House of the Gaetani. The castle 
of Bracciano, on the lake of the same name, was the 
chief residence of the family, who owned many strong- 
holds in the vicinity of Rome. 

The names and arms of the Colonna are still sub- 
jects of doubt. Their family was first heard of in 



Age of the Despots 57 

1 104, and they are supposed to have descended from 
the Counts of Tusculum. " The pillar entwined in 
their crest and embodied in their name has been cred- 
ited respectively to Trajan's Column, the Pillar of Her- 
cules, the Column of Christ's Flagellation, and also the 
Pillar of Fire which guided the Israelites through the 
desert." But it is thought that the family ensign was 
some lofty pillar used as a decoration upon their heights 
in some of their estates in the Campagna. Nicholas I. 
was so great a patron of their family that he has been 
depicted in satirical portraits as imprisoned in a hollow 
pillar. At the end of the thirteenth century the family 
consisted of an uncle and six brothers. Soon after this 
we hear of the Colonna in connection with Boniface 
VIII. The eagle and keys appeared respectively on 
the banners of the Orsini and Colonna ; and long after 
the grounds of their early quarrels were forgotten they 
fought on. 

In 1323, after a long strife, Frederick the Fair of 
Austria had been overthrown at Miildorf, and Louis 
of Bavaria, or Louis IV., was crowned in 1328 with the 
Iron Crown of Lombardy, through the influence of the 
Italian Ghibellines, and afterwards in Rome by two 
excommunicated bishops, who were soon set up as anti- 
Popes. After Matteo Visconti died, Louis installed 
Galeazzo, his son, at Milan, but for political reasons 
he afterwards imprisoned him. Louis made Castruc- 
cio Castracani, who was a nobleman in his bearing, 
though one of the great adventurers of the day, Duke 
of Lucca as well as Imperial Vicar and Senator of 
Rome. Although during this Age of the Despots 
many adventurers followed in the same train, Cas- 
truccio was the first man of his class to receive a title 
which became hereditary. 



58 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Rome at first welcomed Louis of Bavaria with joy ; 
but, he having betrayed the GhibelHne party, who had 
upheld him and rehed on his support, so many fac- 
tions arose, that in 1329 both Louis and the anti-Pope 
Nicholas, whom he had set up, were obliged to take 
themselves out of the way. After the election of 
Benedict XIL the Romans attacked the capital and es- 
tablished a democratic government, sending to Flor- 
ence for a model; but their reforms did not apply to 
Rome, and public discord reached such a height that 
Benedict XIL was obliged to retire to Avignon, and 
was succeeded by Clement VL in 1342. 

This was a bitter time for Florence also, for she too 
was oppressed by Castruccio Castrucani^ the tyrant of 
Lucca, until he died in 1328. Florence had fallen into 
the hands of what was called the 'Topolani Grossi ", 
a Plebeian aristocracy, and in her trouble she had called 
upon Robert of Naples for aid. He was now old, and 
accordingly sent his son, the Duke of Calabria, accom- 
panied by Walter of Brienne, Duke of Athens, the 
duke's lieutenant. Walter of Brienne was " crafty, 
clever and unscrupulous," and in 1342, by flattering 
the Florentines, gained control of the city for life. The 
nobles, however, after a year, seeing that they were 
denied any part in the government, drove Walter of 
Brienne out of the city. The people soon regretted 
this, for Florence was speedily overrun by merce- 
naries now employed everywhere in Italy; and to 
complete their misery, famine, and at last the plague, 
stared them in the face. 

Robert of Naples died in 1343 at the age of eighty. 
He offered the crown to Andrew, son of his nephew, 
King of Hungary, on condition that he should marry 
Joanna, his orphan granddaughter. She was a charm- 



Age of the Despots 59 

ing Italian princess, brought up in one of the most 
fashionable courts of Europe; and she soon despised 
this boorish prince who had become her husband. 
Accordingly Robert himself, seeing that Andrew could 
not fill the position, excluded him altogether from the 
succession, and left the throne to Joanna under a 
regency until she became of age. 

Joanna was a girl of only sixteen, gay, high-strung, 
and inexperienced; and she soon became demioralized. 
Tired of being harassed by the importunities of Andrew 
to be allowed to share the crown, she had him spirited 
away into the country, and, after a revel one night, he 
was thrown from the window of an old fortress. 
Joanna married Louis of Taranto soon after, and there 
was so much scandal connected with Andrew's death 
that the latter's brother, Louis of Hungary, without 
difficulty, took possession of the throne in 1347. He 
soon retired to Hungary, however, leaving only a 
fortified garrison for defence; and Joanna, gaining 
the influence of Clement VL, with the aid of her 
friends regained her kingdom after three years of 
atrocious barbarities on both sides. 

Finally Urban VL excommunicated Joanna of 
Naples, who had afterwards married successively 
James of Aragon and Otto of Brunswick, and installed 
Charles Durazza of the House of Anjou; and when 
Joanna, having no. children, declared Louis, Duke of 
Anjou, uncle of Charles VL of France, her heir, 
Durazza instigated her assassination. Soon after 
Durazza, or Charles HL, as he was called, was himself 
slain. He left a son, Ladislaus, ten years old, and a 
daughter, Joanna H. ; while Louis of Anjou, Joanna's 
heir, at his death left a boy, styled Louis HL 
Ladislaus at the age of sixteen gained influence by 



6o Italy: Her People and Their Story 

marrying a wealthy heiress, and, triumphantly enter- 
ing Naples, drove out his rival, Louis III., thus becom- 
ing the head of the Ghibellines, or anti-French party. 

Ladislaus' sister, Joanna IL, succeeded him and, 
having no heirs, adopted Louis IIL of Anjou, grand- 
son of that Louis I., the successor of Joanna I. At the 
death of Louis IIL, Joanna IL then chose his brother 
Rene, but as soon as she died Alphonso V. of Aragon, 
entitled the Magnanimous, drove Rene out and became 
King of Aragon, Naples and Sicily. This Alphonso 
has the reputation of being the wisest and most popular 
sovereign that ever ruled over the Kingdom of Naples, 
his reign of twenty-three years being the most pros- 
perous period of the Sicilian kingdom. Some think 
that his government formed a basis on which Italian 
independence might have been secured. 

As will be remembered, the complicated history of 
Naples and Sicily dates back as far as 1053, when the 
leaders of the Hauteville family did homage to Pope 
Leo IX. for all conquests they had made, or might 
make. In 11 30 the Island of Sicily under Count Roger 
was united with Naples in one social body, called by the 
Italians a " regno," which differed in its social insti- 
tutions and foreign relations from the rest of Italy. 
Charles of Anjou, after his victory at Grandella, in the 
year 1265, had gained the United Kingdom, calling it 
the " Two Sicilies," and Naples was the capital ; but 
in consequence of the Sicilian Vespers he was obliged 
to relinquish Sicily in 1282, although he continued to 
be King of Naples. After this the two kingdoms 
were separated until the year 1442, when, as has been 
seen, this same Alphonso V. expelled Rene of Anjou 
from the Kingdom of Naples and reunited the Two 
Sicilies under his rule. They continued thus until his 



Age of the Despots 6i 

death in 1458, when they were again separated until 
1504. With short interruptions after this they both 
continued under Spanish rule until 1861, when through 
the cession by Garibaldi of his conquests to the scepter 
of the House of Savoy, they were absorbed into the 
present Italian kingdom. 

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries wars 
were carried on largely by mercenaries, mostly adven- 
turers who were called " Free Companies." This kind 
of fighting force was first collected from disbanded 
German, British, and French soldiers, whom the Vis- 
conti, Castruccio Castrucani, etc., took into their pay. 
Among them were Fra Monreale, Count Lando and 
Duke Werner, the last the captain of the first " Great 
Company " and styled " The Enemy of God, of Pity 
and of Mercy " ; these were some of the names of this 
kind of brigand which have come down to us. Fra 
Monreale was afterwards the captain of the " Great 
Company of Knights of St. John," and was as noted in 
his day as any of the princes. He has been handed 
down in the romances which have for their basis the 
unsettled state of the society of that era. His band 
was employed by the League of Montferrat, La Scala, 
Caresi and Este to check the Visconti. 

The Free Companies became a great curse to Italy, 
since the Italians themselves soon discovered that this 
kind of service offered a profitable career to men of 
daring. Alberico da Barbiano, a noble of Romagna, 
Italianized the profession of " mercenary arms " and 
formed the Company of St. George. These mer- 
cenaries as a class were called condottieri, and with 
them dawned a new miHtary era. Thus *' heavily 
armed cavahers, officered by professional captains, 
fought the battles of Italy, while despots and republics 



62 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

schemed in their castles or debated in the Council 
chambers." The remuneration of these men-at-arms 
was greater than that of the best-paid artisans; and 
the perils of war at that era being inconsiderable, in 
the course of time the ranks of the condottieri were 
recruited largely from the '' needy nobility of Italy/' 
who were fascinated by the life of daring and the 
wealth to be gained. Courtesy was the rule between 
these licensed bandits. They had a code of honor 
which did not permit imprisonment and spared the 
lives of the enemy of the same class. 

The '' Great Company '' was the first example of a 
strolling band of soldiers kept up for the sake of plun- 
der. As early as 1339 this '^ Great Company " was 
broken up through the continued efforts of the Floren- 
tines, though the custom of carrying on war by means 
of mercenaries still went on. Battles soon became less 
bloody, and " gayly caparisoned cavalry " was intro- 
duced in place of the old-time militia; and war soon 
degenerated into a selfish contract between nations 
and their own armies, which resulted in intrigue and 
treachery. A company of English soldiers came over 
to the peninsula, led by Sir John Hawkwood, really a 
condottieri leader of what was called the '' White 
Company " ; and he at first fought bravely for the 
Pisans against the Florentines and the rest of 
Tuscany. 

The rise of mercenaries marks the epoch when Ital- 
ian despotism became the most insupportable. At first 
the tyrants got into public favor by being appointed 
captains of the people and vicars of the city. In order 
to make their government seem protective, they freed 
the people from military service by employing these 
mercenaries; and at the same time they rendered the 



Age of the Despots 63 

old aristocracy powerless. As they grew stronger they 
advanced hereditary claims, and, assuming titles, soon 
took on the style of petty sovereigns. Although they 
used bribery instead of coercion, there was no limit 
to their cruelty. Galeazzo Visconti and Lorenzo de' 
Medici were examples of this mode of despotism, which 
" reigned by terrorism behind a smile." 

Notwithstanding all these dissensions, the arts and 
sciences flourished. Giotto and Cimabue invested the 
art of painting with new life. Petrarch, as a follower 
of Dante, helped to create the most melodious and 
flexible of languages out of old barbarous idioms. He 
enjoyed, while living, the praises of his contemporaries, 
as kneeling before the throne in Rome he received the 
laurel crown, while the people shouted " Long live the 
Capitol and the Poet." It was a degree of Doctor of 
Arts in poetry, and was invented by the German 
Emperors ; and from this time the custom of having a 
poet laureate has been kept up in England. Petrarch 
was born in 1304, and lived half of his life in the valley 
of Vaucluse near Avignon; and in his verses he cel- 
ebrated his love for Laura, the beautiful and virtuous, 
whose image in all his wanderings he could never tear 
from his heart. Even the laurel crown was dearer to 
him because its name was like that of his adored Laura. 
Their reclining statues, side by side, are seen to-day in 
the old museum at Avignon in southern France. 
Petrarch died in 1374. 

Giovanni Boccaccio was born in 13 13 and died in 
1375. He accomplished for Italian prose what 
Petrarch did for its poetry. He wrote in the Tuscan 
language, and in his collection of novels he makes a 
burlesque of the wickedness of the times. 

The two Malespina were the earliest Italian his- 



64 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

torians ; and Giovanni Villani, who died of the plague, 
also graphically chronicled events of the times, as did 
Matteo and Philippo, his brother and nephew. During 
the century and a half between 1309, when Clement V. 
settled at Avignon, and 1447, when Nicholas V. re- 
established the Papacy at Rome on a more solid basis, 
the Italians are said to have come nearer self-govern- 
ment than at any other epoch. At a period a little 
later the peninsula was divided up into five principal 
powers, the Kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Milan, 
the republic of Florence, the republic of Venice, and 
the Papal States, and their united influence for forty- 
five years secured a brilliant season of peace and pros- 
perity. 

The history of Rome from this era was to a large 
degree swallowed up in that of the Papal States. 

In the middle of the fourteenth century floods, fam- 
ines and, in 1348, a fearful plague, which had earlier 
devastated the East, visited Italy. Naples lost sixty 
thousand of her inhabitants, Pisa more than half of hers, 
while Siena never regained her pristine prosperity. 
Boccaccio in his fascinating, though often corrupt, 
writing, gave a wonderful account of the sufferings 
of his native city at the time of this pestilence of 1348, 
which was called the *' Plague of Florence." Under 
the terrible affliction, men, terrorized by overshadow- 
ing death, became lawless and strangers to natural 
affection. 

Meanwhile Rome was the scene of great disorder. 
Through all the strife in the rest of Italy the Romans 
had kept up the desire of governing themselves, and in 
1347 they were still further aroused by one Cola di 
Rienzi, called the " Last of the Tribunes." Though 
only a notary and the son of a Roman innkeeper, this 



Age of the Despots 65 

gifted man had a striking presence and a refined mind. 
Early in his Hfe his brother had been slain by one of 
the Colonna family, and in his desire for vengeance 
he had imbibed a hatred for the whole race of nobles 
with a passionate love for the republic. 

Rienzi held everyone spellbound who came within 
the sound of his voice, and he at length believed him- 
self divinely inspired to revive the ancient glories of 
Rome. He had been made tribune by the Romans 
and Pope Clement VI. at first seemed to endorse his 
views. In the May of 1347, after Rienzi had returned 
from an audience with His Holiness, he draped him- 
self in a toga decorated with figures allegorical of 
his mission, and appeared in the presence of a few 
burghers and merchants, announcing to them a speedy 
restoration of Rome's ancient grandeur; and at the 
same time he made a solemn vow to overthrow the 
nobility and consolidate the republic. 

It was a favorable moment; for there was anarchy 
in the Kingdom of Naples, the Pope was for a time 
absent, and the Empire had been only a tottering fabric 
for many years. Rienzi spent the night of May 19, 
1347, in the town hall; and, having placed the enter- 
prise under the protection of the Holy Spirit, he con- 
voked a Parliament of the people in the Capitol to 
arrange laws, raise an army, and provide for the public 
need and safety. 

On the day that Rienzi was publicly proclaimed 
tribune the nobles, though they retired scoffing, were 
alarmed; for Stephen Colonna was away with his 
forces at Palestrina, and the revolution every moment 
was making great headway. With a bodyguard of one 
hundred men Rienzi assumed command of the 
extemporized army, and retained, in place of the reg- 



(^ Italy: Her People and Their Story 

ular Senate, the ** Thirteen," which had been estab- 
Hshed as a Council in a previous revolution. Rienzi 
also had a higher ambition than simply a local uprising. 
He at once despatched envoys all over Italy, exhort- 
ing the people to shake off the yoke of the tyrant. At 
the annual Latin Festival held in St. Peter's, the canons 
met him on the steps chanting " Veni Creator 
Spiritus'' ; the provincial cities throughout the penin- 
sula did homage to him, and even Petrarch lauded 
Rome's tribune as the greatest ruler of ancient or 
modern times. 

Rienzi's head was completely turned by so much 
adulation; and, issuing a proclamation that Rome 
would resume her jurisdiction over the world, he 
granted citizenship to all the towns of Italy. 

This zeal of the people was mainly fictitious; for, 
though the theories were plausible, scarcely any one 
was ready to respond with deeds. It was the keen- 
ness of Rienzi's prophetic insight which immortalized 
his name ; for in his high pitch of enthusiasm he looked 
beyond the ages, as did Dante and Petrarch, and saw 
in a vast panorama before him a vision of the nation 
as consolidated to-day. He had not, however, the tact 
nor practical skill to gain over the nobles, since he 
would not sacrifice personal animosities to the general 
good; and thus he was not able to suppress the now 
united Guelph and Ghibelline factions of the Orsini 
and Colonna. These, upheld by the Pope, now weary 
of toleration, moved on Rome on the 30th of November 
from Palestrina and encamped before the city. 

Rienzi called out his militia, and a hard fight ensued, 
in which eighty of the nobles, mostly the Colonna, 
were left dead upon the field. This so weakened the 
aristocracy that they never again attained supremacy 



I 



Age of the Despots 67 

in the government of the repubhc; but the strength 
of Rienzi's rule was also broken. He was accused of 
heresy, and the people were tired of bearing the burden 
of his immense public and private expenses. At last 
after seven months he lost heart, and, finding that his 
forces were deserting, he retired to the Castle of St. 
Angelo on the 15th of December, 1347, and afterwards 
fled to Naples. 

For two years Rienzi led a life of "mystic con- 
templation " in the Abruzzi, seeing visions and dream- 
ing dreams and still believing that he was divinely 
appointed to set up a mighty and glorious kingdom 
which would redound to the honor of God and his own 
greatness. For seven years he wandered in disguise 
through the cities of Italy and among the hermits of 
the Apennines, until at last he threw himself on the 
generosity of Charles IV., and woke up to find him- 
self a prisoner at Prague. The semi-centennial Jubi- 
lee of the Church being about to take place, every effort 
was made to keep peace, and in 1350 Charles IV. of 
Germany, before he could be crowned, was obliged to 
deliver up Rienzi to Pope Innocent VI. in Avignon. 
The Pope, thinking that it would be a popular move- 
ment, and also influenced by Petrarch's eulogies of 
Rienzi in verse, released him, allowing him to return 
as a Senator to Rome, with Cardinal Albornoz, who 
was sent there to arrange Church matters for the 
Jubilee. 

Rienzi, in August, 1354, again entered the city, with 
five hundred soldiers, and passing through the Castello 
Gate took possession of the government for the second 
time. Having received funds for the campaign from 
the two brothers Fra Monreale, he sent them as cap- 
tains to surround the remnant of the Colonna at 



68 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Palestrina. Unfortunately, soon after this, Fra Mon- 
reale himself was murdered; and it is suspected that 
Rienzi, being again short of money, instigated the deed 
in order to gain further supplies, though it is generally 
understood that Fra Monreale was plotting to kill him. 
The death of the latter caused so great excitement 
among the people that Rienzi lost his influence, and 
when a new taxation was agitated they rose in open 
revolt, and on the 8th of October stormed the Capitol, 
shouting '' Death to the traitor." 

The spell of Rienzi's magnetic presence was at last 
broken. When he presented himself at the window, 
never doubting that his eloquence would charm the 
people as of old, missiles were hurled at him and the 
palace fired. Finally, giving up all for lost, he shaved 
his head and in the disguise of a shepherd contempt- 
ibly tried to pass himself off as one of his own enemies, 
joining in cries against himself. He was recognized, 
however, by the golden bracelets he had forgotten to 
remove from his arms, and was finally struck down 
and repeatedly stabbed. Such was the ignominious 
fate of the man who had seemed destined to fill the 
world with his name and glory as the regenerator of 
Italy. 



Rise and Fall of the Visconti 69 



CHAPTER VI 

THE VISCONTI. — ^THE CHIOMPI INSURRECTION IN FLOR- 
ENCE. THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY OF THE POPES. — 

THE GREAT SCHISM. 

1349—1435 A.D. 

THE VISCONTI, who first appeared about 1037, 
in the time of Conrad II., came upon the scene, 
one after another, Hke spectral figures, and, after 
exerting a baleful influence on the people of Lom- 
bardy for more than four centuries, vanished. With 
few vicissitudes, they had been growing more and 
more powerful ever since Otto, the archbishop, in 
1277, seized the power from the hands of the Delia 
Torre family, by shutting up Napoleone and five of 
his kinsmen in the three iron cages now seen in Como. 
Pagano della Torre had placed the Milanese under 
everlasting obligations by saving the remnant of their 
army after the Battle of Corte Nuova ; and that family 
was in power ever after until, on account of demo- 
cratic measures, they made themselves unpopular with 
the nobility, especially the Visconti. 

In 13 12 Matteo, a nephew of Otto, was appointed 
Imperial Vicar, and that same year succeeded in exter- 
minating the last of the Torriani. Two years later 
Charles IV. was sent for, to check the influence of the 
Visconti in Lombardy. He did not prove powerful 
enough, however, to curb their tyranny, and from that 
era the decline of Imperial power in Italy was rapid. 
Azzo succeeded Matteo and the latter's uncle Lucchino 



70 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

followed in 1339. He was murdered ten years later 
by his wife, and in the person of his brother, the Arch- 
bishop Giovanni, there appears one of the most notable 
characters of the fourteenth century. The reign of 
this " masterful Prelate " marks a new era in the des- 
potism of the Visconti, who had now become self- 
made sovereigns with a well-established power and 
wide extent of territory. 

The Pope, resenting the encroachments of Arch- 
bishop Giovanni, sent for him to come to Avignon. 
The primate replied that he would march thither with 
twelve thousand cavalry and six thousand infantry. 
He is handed down in portraits with a drawn sword 
in the right hand and a crosier in his left. Soon after 
this mandate of the Pope he thus appeared in the 
cathedral at Milan, where, unsheathing the flashing 
sword and taking the cross, he said : " This is my 
spiritual scepter, and I will wield it in defense of my 
Empire.'' Immediately after, he sent to Avignon to 
engage lodgings for his train and soldiers for six 
months. Although the Pope had summoned him, 
after this he was '' fain to decline so terrible a guest." 

Giovanni died in 1353, having estabHshed the rule 
of the Visconti over more than twenty cities of north- 
ern Italy; and there is no doubt that he aimed at the 
crown of the Empire. The succession fell to three 
sons of one Stephano : Matteo, Bernabo and Galeazzo, 
who shared Milan and Genoa in joint rule and divided 
the rest of the dominion between them. The brothers 
soon disposed of the dissolute Matteo and ruled to- 
gether in harmony. Galeazzo, the youngest son, 
was distinguished as being the handsomest man of his 
age. He was tall and graceful, wearing his hair long 
and in a net, and sometimes in braids down his shoul- 



Rise and Fall of the Visconti 71 

ders. He spent much of his vast wealth in shows, 
festivals and in magnificent buildings. His prodigal 
tastes led him to seek royal marriages for his children, 
his daughter Violante marrying the Duke of Clarence, 
son of Edward III. He gave her as a dowry two 
hundred thousand florins and five cities on the frontier 
of Piedmont. The Duke of Clarence, when he went 
to espouse Violante, left the city of London, with " un- 
paved streets and thatched-roofed houses, to enter the 
luxurious marble palaces of Lombardy rising above 
highways smoothly paved with stone." Gian Galeazzo, 
the brother of Violante, with his young friends brought 
as gifts three score of horses with trappings of silver 
and gold; and there were among the presents fine 
cuirasses and crested helmets and coats-of-arms inlaid 
with precious stones and crimson cloths for raiment. 
The remains after the wedding feast were sufficient 
for ten thousand men. Galeazzo delighted in parad- 
ing such wealth in the presence of the feudal nobles 
of the North, and in introducing as his honored guest 
his friend Petrarch, then the greatest literary man of 
Europe. His son Gian Galeazzo soon after married 
Isabel, daughter of the King of France, the ceremony 
taking place with equal splendor. Galeazzo's court 
was at Pavia, while his brother Bernabo reigned at 
Milan, and both were noted for their heartlessness and 
great cruelty. 

Next to Archbishop Giovanni, Gian Galeazzo, who 
succeeded at the death of his father, Galeazzo, in 1378, 
was the most remarkable Visconti of them all, and his 
reign, which lasted until 1402, forms a distinct chapter 
in Italian history. Shutting himself up in Pavia, he 
set systematically to work to supplant his uncle Ber- 
nabo by feigning the constitutional physical timidity of 



"J 2 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the race, at the same time pretending to be a religious 
enthusiast. This led his uncle and cousins to regard 
him almost as an imbecile, and accordingly easily dis- 
posed of. Thus, when in 1385 Gian Galeazzo declared 
his intention of making a pilgrimage to Varese, and 
started out from Pavia with a bodyguard of Germans, 
his uncles with his sons unsuspectingly came forth to 
meet him near Milan. Pretending to welcome them, 
his German troopers, at a signal, took them all pris- 
oners, and Gian Galeazzo, after poisoning them, pro- 
claimed himself Lord of the Visconti. 

Gian Galeazzo was devoted alike to business and 
pleasure, never, however, neglecting the former for the 
latter ; and under him the Visconti reached the summit 
of their greatness. He associated with men of letters, 
and to a great degree led an intellectual life. It was 
he who built the magnificently beautiful Certosa di 
Pavia, earlier noted as a Carthusian monastery, now a 
museum sustained by the State; and in order fur- 
ther to gratify his taste for splendor, Gian Galeazzo 
founded the Cathedral at Milan. He also finished 
the palace at Pavia which his father had begun, and 
revived the University there. Among other large 
engineering projects he devised a plan for turning the 
Mincio and Brenta from their channels in order to 
dry the lagoons of Venice, thus hoping to bring the 
Lion of St. Mark's to his feet. 

With all his great conceptions, no minor details were 
too small for Gian Galeazzo's attention. He inaugu- 
rated a system of paid clerks and secretaries of depart- 
ments, having his ledgers kept with as great exactness, 
and his correspondence as carefully filed and copied, 
as business men of the present day. His wealth 
enabled him to keep in his service the chief condot- 



Rise and Fall of the Visconti 73 

tieri, whom he pensioned. In this way a great impulse 
was given to the false military system which did so 
much harm in Italy. The disputes of his neighbors 
gave him vast opportunities to extend his power. The 
only cities which dared to contend with him were 
Florence and Venice. In an alliance with the Vene- 
tians he crushed the Delia Scala family in Verona 
and the Carrara in Padua, the d'Este in Ferrara, and 
the Gonzago in Mantua. The whole of Lombardy soon 
became prostrate before this Milanese despot, the 
name of '' Great Serpent " being given to the tyrants 
of the Visconti, in allusion to the idea of the great 
viper absorbing all the smaller snakes. Yet like the 
rest of his family, Gian Galeazzo was physically timid, 
the least unexpected sound almost throwing him into 
convulsions. Accordingly he was always taking the 
strictest measures against assassination. 

Gian Galeazzo was the first Duke of Milan. Seven 
years before his death he bought the title from Em- 
peror Wencelaus for one hundred thousand florins, 
Pavia alone not being included in the Duchy, since he 
was made only the Count of Pavia. Afterwards he 
forced Ruprecht, the successor of Wencelaus, who 
came down to seize his vast possessions, to retire again 
across the Alps. Nothing could have prevented this 
ruthless potentate from obtaining the sovereignty of 
the whole of Italy,, for which he was aiming, had not 
the plague cut off his treacherous career. In 1402 he 
retired to his island fortress of Marignano in order 
to escape its ravages. As he was dying, at the age of 
fifty-four, he pointed to a comet in the sky, saying, 
that God could but thus signalize the approaching end 
of so supreme a ruler. 

From his armchair in Milan, Gian Galeazzo had 



74 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

trained a band of commanders to carry out his plans. 
Nevertheless, at his death, his children being minors, 
his kingdom quickly fell to pieces. His son Giovanni 
Maria succeeded him in 1412, but soon fell a victim 
to his own cruelty, being assassinated by his nobles. 
Filippo Maria, the latter's brother, reigned thirty-five 
years, which era covered many wars and much brutal 
bloodshed. He was the last in the male line of the Vis- 
conti. He married the widow of Facino Cane, who 
possessed great wealth, and, having used her money, he 
had her beheaded on a false charge. He, like Charles 
v., is said to have been outwitted by his own cunning, 
often defeating his aims at the point of achievement 
by his own duplicity. 

At this era the Scotti, the Correggi, and the Mala- 
testa held sway at Piacenza, Cremona and Brescia, 
respectively. The little State of Romagna was overrun 
by the Count of Barbiano, who, with his famous Free 
Company, entered the service of Boniface IX. The 
Count of Savoy, the Marquis of Montferrat, and the 
Lords of Padua, Ferrara and Mantua profited by the 
late reverses of the Visconti, and soon after the begin- 
ning of the fifteenth century were the only independent 
sovereigns of northern Italy, since finally Francesco 
di Carrara was forced to yield to the Venetians and 
was strangled by the order of the Council of Ten. 

While Milan had been usurping the Lombard prin- 
cipalities under the Visconti, Genoa and Venice had 
established large factories along the Black Sea, in 
which they prepared spices and merchandise brought 
from India; and for the next half century these two 
cities fought many battles, first the Venetians gaining 
the victory, and then the Genoese. Gunpowder had 
now begun to be used on the field of battle, and did 



Rise and Fall of the Visconfi 75 

much more effective work than the old weapons. One 
of the worst fights between the two cities took place 
in January, 1352, when the Venetian galleys met the 
Genoese in the Bosphorus near Constantinople, greatly 
outnumbering them, and causing fearful slaughter in 
their ranks. The Venetian fleet was almost annihi- 
lated and four or five thousand were slain on both 
sides. All the Dukes of Lombardy, worn out by the 
despotism of the Visconti, now united with Venice as 
his common enemy against Genoa, then a fief of the 
Duke ; but finally all parties were obliged to appeal to 
Charles IV., who for a time catered to everybody in 
order to secure the Iron Crown of Lombardy. But 
Genoa after three years came under the power of the 
Visconti. 

The residence of the Popes at Avignon, called the 
Babylonian Captivity, beginning in 1309, lasted until 
1375. Seven Popes in succession resided there in 
opulence and voluptuous splendor, until the north of 
France was overrun by King Edward III.'s troops, 
and the Free Companies in their restless wanderings 
in search of booty had penetrated as far as the Valley 
of Vaucluse. Then Urban V., alarmed, and influenced 
by Charles IV. of Germany, decided to return with the 
Papal Court to Rome, where he remained three years, 
greatly magnifying Papal grandeur. But there was 
no repose in Rome, since Charles IV., by his active 
diplomacy, was keeping Italy as well as Germany in a 
ferment, and all the various factions were at never- 
ending war with each other. Accordingly Urban V. 
returned to Avignon, and his successor, Gregory XL, 
died as he was about to restore the Papal residence 
again to Rome; and the Cardinals now met to choose 
his successor. 



"](> Italy: Her People and Their Story 

The famous schism, which desolated Europe for 
forty years, had already begun; and, since the French 
and Spanish Cardinals were in the majority, the people 
feared that a foreign pontiff might be elected. Ac- 
cordingly thirty magistrates were chosen, delegated to 
represent the wishes of the people in the Sacred Col- 
lege. The Cardinals, however, silenced the magis- 
trates by telling them that they must not meddle, since 
the matter was a subject properly under the guidance 
of the Holy Spirit; but the people were not satisfied 
with this, and assumed the responsibility themselves, 
surrounding the Vatican and haranguing the Council, 
telling them that they should hold that body as surety 
that an Italian Pope would be elected. The Arch- 
bishop of Bari was soon chosen as Urban VI., and the 
populace was satisfied ; but when he, as Pope, decided 
that no one outside of Italy could take part in Church 
government, the Holy See revoked their decree and 
elected Clement VII. as anti-Pope, the real Clement 
VII. coming two centuries later. 

Spain and Sicily adhered to the anti-Pope, while 
England, Germany, Hungary and Portugal, together 
with Italy, supported Urban VI., both Popes proving 
equally obnoxious. The latter established himself at 
Rome with nineteen Italian Cardinals, while Clement 
VIL retired to Avignon with most of the old Cardinals. 

Urban VI., who had caused the schism in the 
Church, died in 1389. After two other Popes had 
passed away, Gregory XIL was chosen as the Roman 
candidate; and upon the death of the anti-Pope, 
Clement VII., the Cardinals of Avignon chose Bene- 
dict XIII. in his place as anti-Pope. The Cardinals 
refused to recognize either, and, though everybody con- 
nected with the Church was chagrined at the quarrel, 



Rise and Fall of the Visconti yy 

they summoned both Popes to appear at a General 
Council at Pisa. When the two Popes resisted the de- 
crees of these Cardinals, together with the prelates 
and ambassadors from all parts of the Christian 
world, the Council deposed both Gregory XII. and 
Benedict XIII., electing Alexander V. Benedict 
XIII. then called a Council at Perpignan, a gloomy 
fortress on the frontier of Spain, while Gregory XII. 
rallied his forces at Ravenna and Alexander V. estab- 
lished himself in Rome, all sending out Bulls of Ex- 
communication among the rulers of Europe according 
to their different prejudices. 

While these ecclesiastical dissensions were going on, 
Braccio da Montone, the great leader, and the peasant 
warrior, Sforza Attendolo, fought respectively for 
Florence and for Naples, where Ladislaus, the son of 
Charles Durazza was then at the height of his power. 
Florence, in order to defeat Ladislaus, desired a univer- 
sally acknowledged Pope. Accordingly, Braccio da 
Montone, acting in her behalf, entered Rome and 
forced the people to acknowledge Alexander V. In 
a short time, however, the latter died, and Pope John 
XXIIL, who succeeded him, called upon Emperor 
Sigismond to assist in the conflict; and when Ladis- 
laus, an important factor in the controversy, was 
struck down at the Battle of Roccasecca, Sigismund 
determined to put an end to the scandal of the schism. 
He forced John XXIIL to call together all the clergy- 
men in Christendom at Constance in 1415; but the 
latter, finding that all the Popes were about to be 
deposed, fled in the disguise of a groom ; and Gregory 
XII. also was glad to give up the keys of St. Peter's 
and compromise for the office of Cardinal, while Bene- 
dict XIIL, after being sustained by Spain for awhile, 



78 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

was obliged to retire. The three rival Popes having 
thus been put aside, Otto Colonna assumed the title of 
Pope Martin V., and with him the schism was nomi- 
nally ended. This was the Council in which John Huss 
and Jerome of Prague were condemned to death and 
burned. Eugene IV. followed Martin V., and then 
came the strong Nicholas V., who took his place 
among the first of the temporal powers of Italy. 

When the sun rose upon the fifteenth century the 
horizon of Italy was obscured in clouds. Lombardy 
was almost entirely absorbed by the Visconti, Naples 
was worn out with civil war, and, as has been seen, the 
Papal power was at a minimum. These were days 
of treachery and crime. 

During the time these Church quarrels were going 
on Venice held sway from St. Mark's to the Adige, 
and her flag floated from her strongholds in Treviso 
to Feltro, and over Belluno, Verona, Vincenza to 
Padua. In 1378 Venice and Genoa had their last 
serious encounter at Chioggia, where they fought 
fiercely about the possession of Cyprus. Genoa block- 
aded this channel twenty-five miles south of Venice 
at the end of the Southern Lagoon. The Venetian 
fleet was destroyed in the encounter, and the republic 
was in great danger. This was when the Genoese 
leader, Luciano Doria, boasted that he would bridle 
the bronze horses of St. Mark's. The consternation 
became so overwhelming that Vittorio Pisani, who had 
been imprisoned on account of the loss of the fleet, 
begged the chance to save his ungrateful country, and 
was released. Carlo Zeno, in the Levant, heard of the 
disaster, and coming to the aid of Pisani, blockaded 
the Genoese in the port they had seized, and at the 
end of six months forced them to surrender. The 



Rise and Fall of the Visconti 79 

war was not finished until the treaty of Turin in 1381. 
Venice was obliged to give up Dalmatia and Treviso 
for the time; but she soon became as powerful as 
ever. Genoa, on the contrary, never regained the com- 
mercial prestige then lost, and in 1396 came under the 
power of Charles VL of France. 

As far back as 1309 Bernabo Visconti had made 
war on Florence, which was supported for awhile by 
Urban V. and then by Gregory XI. It was at this 
time that Sir John Hawkwood, the condottieri leader 
of the so-called White Company, came over, at first 
for the purpose of helping the Pisans. Afterwards, 
however, the Florentines made an alliance with Pisa 
and other Ghibelline powers, the management of the 
war being given to eight commissioners called the 
" Eight of War," who won such popularity by their 
able conduct that they were derisively called the 
" Eight Saints of War." Sir John Hawkwood, by 
his efforts in behalf of the whole combination, enabled 
them to successfully carry on the struggle against the 
Guelphs. Long afterwards, in 1378, Hawkwood as- 
sisted Florence when Gian Galeazzo Visconti tried to 
gain the ascendancy over her; and the strife did not 
end until the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402. Hawk- 
wood is buried in the Cathedral at Florence. 

Silvestro de' Medici, who aimed to upset the ex- 
treme Guelph faction led by the Albizzi and Soder- 
ini, was chosen Gonfaloniere in 1378, while the mod- 
erate Guelph party consisted of the " Eight of War," 
the Ricci and a large vacillating element who were 
not satisfied with the party in power. Salvestro 
hunted up some old archives which were hostile to the 
rule of the nobles, and though unsuccessful in the 
Council of the Arts, in the General Council of the peo- 



8o Italy: Her People and Their Story 

pie he was popular; and accordingly he was able to 
drive the governing faction with their ill-gotten power 
to the wall. What is called the " Insurrection of the 
Chiompi " ensued. The latter was a class of work- 
men who belonged neither to the fourteen Greater Arts 
or Guilds nor to the seven Lesser Arts, but who with 
the other unorganized citizens were only called to- 
gether in Parliament at the tolling of the great bell. 
These artisans plotted to place the two Arts on an 
equal footing, and originated, in addition, Arts of 
their own. When the conspiracy was discovered the 
people broke out into a riot and placed the standard 
of the Gonfaloniere in the hands of one Michele di 
Lando, who, barefooted, mounted the stairs of the 
Palace of the Signoria, declaring that he would place 
the building and the whole city in the hands of the 
mob. He appointed his own priors, two from the 
Greater, two from the Lesser and two from the New 
Arts be had given the people; and in spite of the 
Eight of War, who wanted Lando to work through 
them, he kept the artisans quiet until he went out of 
office. His successors, however, lacked his strength; 
and accordingly, in 1382, the Guelph aristocracy called 
for a " Balia," which was afterwards a very frequent 
demand, and consisted of a committee chosen by the 
people with full power to change the Constitution. 
This committee repealed all the measures just passed. 
In spite of this the Lesser Guilds had gained some 
ground and Silvestro de' Medici, the real leader, had 
obtained the great popularity for which he was 
aiming. 



The Medici 8i 



CHAPTER VII 

RISE OF THE MEDICI. — THE SFORZA FAMILY. — NICHO- 
LAS V. — THE AGE OF INVASION. — SAVONAROLA. 

1436^1494 A.D. 

THE power in Florence fell into the hands of the 
Guelphs soon after the Ciompi Insurrection, and 
Rinaldo Albizzi held the reins of government. But 
powerful rivals were at hand. Silvestro de' Medici 
had a brother, Giovanni, and from the latter sprung 
the noted Medici family, commencing with his son 
Cosimo. The foundation of the future Medici great- 
ness was laid by the wonderful ability of this man, 
who surrounded himself by scholars, and gained great 
popularity by spending freely his immense self-ac- 
quired fortune. The Albizzi, bent on his ruin, finally 
shut him up in the tower of the grim Palazzo Vecchio. 
This step so aroused the people that, as in all extraor- 
dinary events, the great bell tolled and the gates of 
the Palace were forced open. Then the Signoria and 
Gonfaloniere came forth with the College of the Arts, 
and, all uniting, demanded a Balia. As it proved, this 
committee sided with the Albizzi, who, trembling for 
fear of Cosimo's return to power, greatly desired to 
slay him. In spite of this, however, he was only 
banished; and, as the Albizzi had apprehended, the 
following year, a change coming about in the city 
government, Cosimo came back. This time the Balia 
decided against the Albizzi, and they in turn were 



82 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

banished, while Cosimo was raised again to supreme 
power; and this continued for more than a century in 
the family of the Medici. 

The Albizzi enlisted Filippo Maria Visconti; and 
the Florentines were several times defeated by him, 
until the Venetians came to their aid, assisted by Fran- 
cesco Comagnola. 

Comagnola was a Piedmontese, and one of the ablest 
military officers of the day, as well as one of the 
most humane of the condottieri commanders. He had 
won back for Filippo Maria Visconti all the small sove- 
reignites which had been lost at the death of his 
father, Gian Galeazzo. Afterwards, however, having 
been accused of treachery by Filippo Maria, he 
went over to the Venetians, for whom he gained im- 
portant victories. But, being defeated near Cremona 
in the great battle at Soncino by Francesco Sforza, 
whom at one time he had given his liberty, he became 
disheartened and remained so inactive that his loyalty 
was questioned. In 1432 he was called to Venice and 
suddenly thrown into prison, where he was tortured 
for several weeks before being taken out and beheaded 
between two columns in front of the Doge Palace. 
Though instigated by the Council of Ten, it was an 
impolitic movement, since Duke Filippo no longer 
cared to make peace with the Venetians after his 
powerful enemy Comagnola was dead. It was on the 
ruins of the latter 's career that Francesco Sforza 
climbed up to greatness. 

Pope Eugenius was forced by Filippo Maria Vis- 
conti to flee from Rome and take refuge with Cosimo 
di Medici and his party in Florence. These were fast 
crushing out Duke Filippo Maria, when the latter en- 
ticed Francesco Sforza, who was then in the Pope's 



The Medici ,83 

employ, to his side, by giving him his daughter Bianca 
in marriage. 

The father of Francesco was the great general 
Atondolo Sforza. He was originally a peasant of 
Cotignola, who received the name of Sforza from his 
physical strength. When invited to enlist, he threw 
his ax into an oak and cried : " If it stay there, it will 
be a sign that my fortune is made." The ax stuck 
in the tree, and Sforza went forth to found a line of 
dukes. While his friend Braccio di Montone intro- 
duced the solid phalanx, Sforza still held to the old 
method of detached bodies of cavalry. In 1409 these 
two great captains separated, and as distinct companies, 
were known as the Sforzesi and the Bracconesi. They 
carried on all the wars of Italy for the next twenty 
years. Finding that to defeat each other was disas- 
trous to the respective causes, they adopted the plan of 
checkmating. At their deaths in 1424 Braccio was 
succeeded by Nicholas Piccinini, and Sforza, as has 
been seen, by his son Francesco, these two in their 
turn being the chief captains of Italy and the ablest 
generals of their day. 

Although Francesco Sforza married the Duke of 
Milan's daughter, his father-in-law did not favor him 
greatly, since he was too ambitious and interfered 
with the latter's power. Accordingly when Filippo 
Maria died in 1447, leaving no legitimate heirs in the 
male line, he bequeathed his dominions to Alphonso 
of Naples. Though one party upheld Sforza in the 
right of his wife, the greater number desired no duke ; 
and Milan was organized into a republic, her example 
being followed by Pavia, Como, Alessandria and all 
the cities which had been subject to the Visconti. This 
lasted three years, until Milan was finally inveigled 



'84 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

into appointing Sforza as commander-in-chief against 
the Venetians, who were pushing their power west- 
ward. In one brilliant campaign Sforza drove the 
Venetians back, burned their fleet, and defeated their 
army. Then, although some of the citizens said they 
would rather become subjects even of Venice, than to 
fall into Sforza's hands, after treacherously making 
peace with that nation, Sforza reduced the surrounding 
cities and forced Milan in 1450 to receive him as their 
duke. His cruel son, Galeazzo Sforza, succeeded him 
in 1466; and under the latter Milan and Genoa suf- 
fered greatly for many years. 

At this time the four great powers of Italy were 
the King of Naples, the Duke of Milan and the re- 
publics of Venice and Florence. Soon after, another 
mighty influence gained great advantage in Italy. It 
was the temporal power of the Pope. Had Florence 
and Venice at this time upheld the faction in Milan 
and Genoa who desired a republican government 
there would have been four dominating common- 
wealths to resist foreign interference, so that they 
might have maintained the freedom of one consoli- 
dated republic. But Cosimo di Medici, who was then 
just commencing his despotism in Florence, preferred 
to see a duke in Milan; and the Foscari in Venice 
thought only of territorial extension. 

The captivity of Avignon, which had nominally 
ended at the Council of Constance, had well-nigh ex- 
tinguished the influence of the Popes, ^neas Sylvius, 
however, the secretary of Emperor Frederick III., 
and a very learned, diplomatic, and versatile character, 
gained the ascendancy at the Council of Basle, and 
arranged things so that Pope Eugenius was enabled 
to triumph in that body. He also later secured the 



The Medici 85 

election of Nicholas V., during whose rule the schism 
really ended in 1448. 

The reign of Nicholas V. opened an era of temporal 
splendor, which is said to have ushered in the Renais- 
sance; and this ended with the establishment of the 
Popes as sovereigns in Rome, a position they held up 
to the time of the present government. Nicholas V. 
had been tutor in the house of the Albizzi while only 
Thomas of Sarzana, and afterwards he was engaged 
as librarian of the Medici in Florence. Though 
humbly born, he imbibed the culture of the era and 
became a distinguished humanist. He was a peace- 
maker and promoted education, and as Pope he was 
without a rival in the Church. After the advent of 
the Greeks in Italy, before the taking of Constanti- 
nople by the Infidels under Mohammed II. in 1453, 
the zeal for Greek was revived, and Rome became the 
center of Greek culture. Nicholas V. encouraged art 
by rebuilding churches and palaces, and he also 
strengthened the city with fortifications. It was he 
who first conceived the idea of the prospective mag- 
nificence of the St. Peter's of to-day; and he re- 
fashioned the Vatican Palace, collecting manuscript 
and archives to found the famous Vatican Library. 
The invention of printing in his time also helped the 
progress of learning. 

In 1452, when Pope Nicholas had crowned Frede- 
rick III. with great ceremony at Rome, a large number 
of republican Romans, displeased at this, and his 
general assumption of power, formed a conspiracy to 
assassinate the whole Papal court, plunder the Vatican 
and, by setting up a government of their own, free 
the city from ecclesiastical bondage. This audacious 
and bloodthirsty plot was discovered, however, and 



86 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

thwarted, and this was the last attempt of Rome to 
establish a free government. 

In 1454 Nicholas V. was the means of bringing 
about the Peace of Lodi, in which Venice, Milan, 
Florence and Alphonso of Naples united for the pur- 
pose of withstanding the Turks. A year after, in 
1455, Nicholas V. died, and ^Eneas Sylvius was chosen 
Pope with the title of Pius II. In 1464 he also died 
while preaching a denunciatory sermon against the 
Turks. In 1477 a large Turkish army, after desolating 
the coast of Italy as far as the Piav, defeated the 
Venetians, their proceedings being watched from the 
Campanile of St. Mark's. The Turks also took pos- 
session of the Black Sea, depriving Genoa of all her 
possessions and influence there. The depredations of 
the Turks at this time were only stopped by the death 
of Mohammed II. 

The rise of the House of Medici in Florence is 
one of the most absorbing events in Italian history. 
Cosimo di Medici, after his return in September, 
1434, from banishment in Venice, executed his power 
with remarkable wisdom and tact. He adorned Flor- 
ence with the finest architecture and founded the Pitti 
and Uffizi galleries, which still attract millions of peo- 
ple from all lands. Under his supervision the dome of 
the Cathedral was built by Brunelleschi, and Masaccio 
painted and embellished churches and chapels, after- 
wards models for Michelangelo and other great art- 
ists. Cosimo encouraged literature in every possible 
manner, keeping many scholars busy collecting manu- 
script to adorn the Medici library. From this era, for 
three centuries, the history of Florence is connected 
with the House of Medici. 

Neri Capponi was another great statesman. It was 



The Medici 87 

said of the two men, if Cosimo was the wealthiest, 
Neri was the wisest. These autocrats, when afraid of 
any opposition, called a Parliament and had a Balia 
appointed for five years; and thus they were able to 
secure the election of their own party, as in the case 
mentioned against the Albizzi. 

The splendor and refinement of Cosimo Medici's 
taste enriched the State ; and, though his rule abridged 
the liberties of Florence, the material prosperity of the 
city was sustained. His death in 1464 left only one 
son, Pietro, who did nothing except burden the Italian 
people with his debts. He quarreled with Luca Pitti, 
a most formidable enemy, and soon died from his 
dissipations in 1469, leaving two sons, Lorenzo and 
Giuliano. 

The Medici were not, at this period, absolute des- 
pots like the Visconti ; but they were no longer simply 
a great family, as they had been in the time of Silves- 
tro. Although they used their power for the good of 
the city, they did it by drawing from the public treas- 
ury in the interest of their own house. The Popes of 
this epoch were striving for dominion, not in order to 
enlarge the Holy See, but for the purpose of making 
their sons and nephews Italian princes. Sixtus IV. 
therefore entertained a violent hatred for the Medici, 
since Lorenzo was opposing his attempt to establish 
his nephew in Romagna ; and, in sympathy with the old 
Greek and Roman ethics, he felt that nothing was a 
icrime which would rid the State of tyrants. 

Accordingly Sixtus IV. concocted a scheme of assas- 
sination which was so gigantic and far-reaching that 
it involved at least one hundred persons, among them 
Sixtus' nephew and grandnephew, the Riario, Fran- 
cesco Salviati and the Archbishop of Pisa, while even 



88 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the odious King Ferdinand of Naples is said to have 
abetted the scheme. The conspiracy was called after 
the Pazzi family, who were the foremost in the plot. 
They instigated it because, though among the richest 
and noblest of Florence, they had been kept out of 
office by Lorenzo de' Medici and excluded from the 
right of succession to the Borrommeo property. This 
was according to Lorenzo's policy, which was to put 
down the wealthy and rai&:i up people of no conse- 
quence, oyer whom his influence would be paramount. 
During a Church celebration in Florence the two 
brothers Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici were invited 
to a feast to be given by Jacopo de' Pazzi on Sunday, 
April 26, 1478. But the conspirators found out that 
for some reason or other Giuliano would not be at the 
banquet, and not daring to postpone the assassination, 
the date of which was known to so many, they decided 
to commit the deed at once at service in the Cathedral. 
Francesco de' Pazzi and Bernardo Bandini were the 
ecclesiastics chosen to kill Giuliano, and it was ar- 
ranged that Giovanni Battista was to murder Lorenzo ; 
but he hesitated to commit the sacrilege of slaying his 
friend in church. Accordingly two priests, Antonio 
and Stephano, who comprehended sacred things better, 
undertook the task. After reaching the church, and 
finding that Giuliano was not there, Pazzi and Bandini 
went to his house, and in a playful manner accom- 
panied him to the service, at the same time ascer- 
taining that he was unarmed. An immense crowd 
enabled the assassins to get behind their intended 
victim without attracting attention; and as the little 
bell sounded when the Host was lifted up, and all 
were kneeling in the presence of God, Bernardo 
stabbed Giuliano to the heart, and Francesco di 



The Medici 89 

Pazzi pierced him many times with a dagger. Antonio 
and Stephano only succeeded in slightly wounding 
Lorenzo, and were afterwards found in hiding, and 
slain. 

Francesco de' Pazzi having been disabled, the aged 
Jacopo, who had prepared the feast, gathered a few 
followers before the Palazzo Vecchio crying out: 
** Liberty and the People." The people, however, 
were too hoodwinked by the wiles of the Medici to 
comprehend that their freedom had already been taken 
away, and they immediately arose against the con- 
spirators, instantaneously cutting down more than 
seventy in the street. They hung the Archbishop of 
Saviati in his priestly robes outside his own window, 
and placed Francesco de' Pazzi by his side on the gal- 
lows. Two hundred more were put to death indis- 
criminately. All this was done at the instigation of 
Lorenzo, and has come down in history as, the " Pazzi 
Massacre," just as the conspiracy is called " The Pazzi 
Conspiracy." 

Lorenzo de' Medici was conveyed in safety to his 
palace, and a special police force was posted in his 
grounds. His power was now strengthened by the 
sympathy of the citizens, and from this time he as- 
sumed a more sumptuous style than ever. He called 
round him a crowd of literary men, whom he main- 
tained, and who sustained him in his pride. The title 
*' Magnificent," which familiarizes us with him, does 
no more than justice to his character, and although 
this magnificence was entirely egoistical and sup- 
ported at the public expense, he made the people feel 
prosperous, and they were contented. No longer dis- 
guising his part in the plot to assassinate Lorenzo, 
Sixtus excommunicated the whole duchy of Florence 



90 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

which in turn appealed to the rest of Italy for support 
in a general council of the Tuscan clergy. 

Ludovico Sforza, son of Francesco Sforza, and the 
cruel Galeazzo's brother, had been banished from 
Milan by the latter's widow, Bona of Savoy, sister-in- 
law of Louis XI., because he had tried to wrest the 
power from her. Now, however, he returned to Milan 
and usurped the duchy in place of his nephew, a boy 
of twelve years, the son of Bona of Savoy. He then 
united with Louis XL in an alliance with Lorenzo. 
Sixtus IV. also was obliged to come to terms with all 
parties in 1480, when he saw that the Turks were 
threatening Rome. But he made one more attempt 
against the general peace by trying to get Ferrara for 
his nephew. Cardinal Riario. The Pope's captain in 
these great wars was Fedrigo, Duke of Urbino, a man 
distinguished not only for his skill in warfare, but for 
his culture, justice and uprightness of life. 

Sixtus IV., chagrined at the failure of all his plans, 
died in the year 1484. It was he who built the won- 
derful Sistine Chapel and named it after himself. The 
constructing of the Vatican was begun in the early 
part of the Christian era, and had continued up to the 
time of Charlemagne, who is said at one time to have 
resided in one of the courts of the Church of St. 
Peter's. The Popes from the time of Eugenius IV. had 
again taken up this work of culture and splendid 
architecture, which they continued for several cen- 
turies. 

Innocent VIIL, the successor of Sixtus IV., was 
elected by the influence of Ferdinand of Naples, and 
though they soon quarreled, Lorenzo di Medici finally 
brought about a reconciliation between them after 
he himself had pacified the Pope by marrying his 




Savonarola. 



The Medici 91 

own daughter to one of the Pope's natural sons. 
Through this union he raised the Medici family to the 
highest position of ecclesiastical grandeur, since His 
Holiness now named Giovanni, the son of Lorenzo, 
then but thirteen years old. Cardinal; and this boy, 
afterwards Leo X., was the most renowned pontiff of 
the Vatican. 

In spite of the many internal dissensions, the period 
between 1480 and 1492 was a time of general pros- 
perity in Italy ; for the three leading men in the nation. 
King Ferdinand, Ludovico Sforza and Lorenzo di 
Medici, were anxious to be in harmony, desiring to 
work together in order to check the growth of Venice 
and to profit by the periodical embroilments of the other 
powers. 

During this epoch a great deal of land was brought 
under cultivation, manufactures flourished, and the 
country grew populous and increased in wealth. The 
Italian peasantry were better housed, clothed and fed 
than men of the same rank in other countries and a 
sense of security pervaded the land. Although Italian 
art and literature were also in a flourishing con- 
dition at this era, the luxury and tyranny engendered 
by the Medici had enervated the people and lessened 
their virtues and self-respect. 

One Dominican monk, Girolamo Savonarola, fought 
against this influence. He began to preach in 1489, 
and so great was the desire to hear him that women 
and children would rise in the night to gain their 
places. They came with the same rejoicing to listen to 
his sermons with which they would go forth to a 
wedding or to a play, making no account of standing 
on cold marble pavements in the chill of winter. 
Savonarola thundered in awful tones against the vices 



92 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of society and the sins of the people, and foretold the 
terrible punishment which awaited such a course of 
life. The Florentines were held spellbound by the 
simple eloquence of a preacher who scorned all " tra- 
dition of oratory, and literary style " and swept every- 
thing before him by his earnestness and warmth of 
feeling. In looking upon his glowing countenance, 
the imagination of all was kindled. Some believed 
that they saw an angel on either side of him as he 
preached; and others thought the Madonna herself 
stood above him in glory, blessing him with uplifted 
hands while he pronounced a benediction on the mul- 
titude. 

The '' Magnifico " feared Savonarola's influence, yet 
was attracted by him, and sought him out at the monas- 
tery of St. Mark's; but he could not gain his confi- 
dence, for Savonarola felt that any degree of sym- 
pathy with this luxurious though affable tyrant would 
fetter him in his mission of helping the people. 

Savonarola was of a fervid temperament, believed 
in special revelations, and dreamed dreams. He gained 
an especial power over the people by his ability to 
foretell the leading events of the times — the advent of 
the French King, the fall of the Medici, the reign 
of Clement VII. and like great disasters. 

Lorenzo de' Medici died in 1492. He was one of 
the most illustrious men handed down in history ; and, 
in spite of a few rash acts of cruelty, the moral 
beauty of his character and his ennobling taste would 
seem lofty even in the most advanced epochs of a pure 
and unsullied state of society. It was through the 
patronage extended by him to all scholars and artists 
that the way was prepared for that most brilliant 
epoch in Italian history which came about in the sue- 



The Medici 93 

cession of his son, and was called the " Golden Age 
of Leo X." 

Just before Lorenzo died his fascination for Savon- 
arola revived, and he summoned him from St. Mark's 
to hear his last confession, because he knew that the 
great divine would not fear to tell him the truth. The 
illustrious preacher refused to come, saying : " We 
could not agree '' ; but Lorenzo sent back the messen- 
ger with a promise to accede to everything. 

The prior was led to the luxurious chamber where 
Lorenzo lay dying in the prime of his days, surrounded 
by all that he loved, yet hopeless and helpless, and tor- 
mented by the memory of the wrongs which he had 
committed. He confided to his confessor that there 
were three things which troubled his soul — the atro- 
cious Sack of the Volterra, the Murder of the Orphans 
and the Massacre of the Pazzi. Savonarola told the 
penitent that, first, he must have a living faith that 
God would pardon him ; and Lorenzo told him that he 
could have that faith. Secondly: he must restore 
everything wrongfully acquired so far as lay in his 
power, only leaving to his children as much as would 
maintain them as private citizens. Lorenzo was mad- 
dened at this thought, but finally he said he would 
also do this. In addition to all the rest, the faithful 
friar told him that he must restore freedom and a 
popular republican government to Florence. Then 
the great Magnificent turned his face to the wall and 
said not another word; upon which the prior went 
away without granting him absolution. 

Savonarola afterwards said that he grieved greatly 
because he had not allowed himself to become ac- 
quainted with Lorenzo sooner; for he believed that 
through the grace of God the distinguished ruler then 



94 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

might have found salvation, " since he had never be- 
fore known a man so well endowed with all the natural 
graces." Lorenzo died at forty-four in the splendor of 
his prosperity ; and Florence, where to-day one cannot 
look in any direction without gazing upon the work 
of some man's genius, is filled with the spirit of the 
Medici in its churches, galleries, streets and squares, 
as well as in the beautiful Medici Chapel erected as a 
monument to the family name. Lorenzo left three 
sons, Pietro who succeeded him, Giovanni (Leo X.) 
and Giuliano. 

Innocent VIIL died nearly at the same time as 
Lorenzo, just as the " anarchy of the Feudal Ages was 
giving place to the renown of the Renaissance/' But 
for Italy the Age of Invasion followed, and England, 
France, Spain and Austria for many years " menaced 
this disunited State by the consolidation of their 
gigantic power." 

The year after Innocent VIIL died, Rodrigo Borgia 
had gained by bribery his election as Pope under 
the name of Alexander VI. He used his power 
almost entirely to forward ambitious schemes in behalf 
of his children, Caesar and Lucretia. These two ex- 
ceeded their father in the insolence of their vices, their 
falseness and cruelty, so that the name of Borgia has 
been handed down as a synonym of vice. 



Age of Invasion 95 



CHAPTER VIII 

AGE OF INVASION. — COMING OF CHARLES VIII. — SPANISH 
POSSESSION OF NAPLES. THE EXPULSION OF LUDO- 

vico SFORZA. — Savonarola's death. — peace of 

CAMBREY. — ART AND LITERATURE. 
1494—1553 A.D. 

FOR several years after the death of Lorenzo, 
Savonarola was the real ruler of Florence, and at 
the time of the French invasion determined the politics 
of the city, and with the aid of Piero Capponi guided 
the State through the critical period. He relieved the 
starving populace within the walls, opened shops for 
the unemployed, reduced the taxes, and administered 
justice in every possible way, at the same time exhort- 
ing all men to put their trust in God. The laws and 
edicts of this period are said to read like paraphrases 
of Savonarola's sermons. He warded off a revolution, 
not only by keeping the people quiet, but by frighten- 
ing the King of France with prophecies, so that the 
latter left the city free from his depredations. The 
Great Council which followed, giving the people their 
rights, was also the work of Savonarola. After the 
fall of the Medici the Florentines, influenced by Savon- 
arola's teachings, abjured their vanities and follies, 
leading a life of humility and repentance. Hymns and 
psalms rang in the streets, in place of loud songs which 
had so recently been heard, while men and women 
dressed with Puritan simplicity; and husbands and 
wives even quitted their homes for life in convents; 
for Savonarola's reign is said to have been a " kind of 



96 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

heavenly despotism/' short, but far-reaching in its 
influence. Although he preached eight years, from 
the year 1489, without interruption, his real rule over 
Florence commenced in 1491, and he reached the 
climax of his greatness in 1495. 

It was in 1492, after Alexander VI. was Pope, that, 
during the delivery of one of his forcible sermons, he 
heard supernatural voices portending the wrath of 
God, and he saw the celebrated vision recorded on 
contemporary medals and engravings symbolizing his 
doctrine. In it a hand appeared bearing a flaming 
sword and voices were heard proclaiming mercy to 
the faithful, and vengeance to the guilty. Then the 
sword bent towards the earth, and the sky darkened, 
thunder pealed and lightning flashed and the world 
was visited by famine, bloodshed and pestilence. It 
was the disturbance his sermons caused which influ- 
enced Pietro di Medici to have him removed from 
Florence; and it was while he was preaching in 
Bologna that the rebuke to the wife of Bentivoglio, the 
ruler there, for interrupting divine service by her 
noisy entrance, came near costing him his life. Assas- 
sins were sent to kill him in his cell; but, awed by 
Savonarola's words, they fled in terror from the con- 
vent. At the close of his last sermon in Bologna he 
fearlessly announced the day and hour of his departure ; 
and then he started out barefoot on his lonely journey 
over the Apennines. 

After a time, when the Florentines no longer feared 
Charles VIII. and were free from the shadow of the 
Pisan War, the people began to long for their old 
gayeties, and heeded less and less the great prior's 
teachings. In 1495 a Papal brief summoned Savon- 
arola to Rome, and in September another, and then a 



Age of Invasion 97 

third. Just after he preached one of his most exciting 
sermons, Alexander VI. united St. Mark's to another 
division of the Dominican order, and thus abridged 
Savonarola's influence, which had been supreme over 
the monasteries. As early as 1497 the Arrabbiati and 
the Medici party united, and on Ascension Day Savon- 
arola was insulted and a Bull of Excommunication was 
hurled against him. That same year he was forbidden 
to preach in his own convent, and again summoned to 
Rome, his touching farewell sermon being delivered 
in 1498. 

Although Alexander was determined that Savon- 
arola should meet his death in Rome, the Signoria 
insisted that he should die in the presence of the 
Florentines. A trap was laid for him and a challenge 
given by Francesco di Pagano to prove the truth of 
his doctrine by the celebrated " Ordeal of Fire." 
Everything was ready for the experiment, and Savon- 
arola is said to have been almost assured of his 
triumph in the issue ; but there was delay and the au- 
thorities finally put a stop to the proceedings. His 
enemies after this pushed their advantage, and, having 
imprisoned him, tortured him for three successive 
days. As a result of his ascetic life he was too weak 
physically to endure the torment, and in his delirium 
he would promise to recant, saying and doing things 
based on which the records were falsified, and state- 
ments and signatures forged; but when unbound he 
would reassert his views, crying out : " My God, I 
denied thee for fear of pain." This vacillating course 
gave the Florentine Signoria a chance to claim that 
he who had swayed Florence for years was not only a 
false prophet, but had used his unusual abilities for 
his own advancement and vainglory. 



98 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

On May 22, 1498, final sentence was passed. That 
night, as Savonarola lay asleep in his cell, his head 
resting on the shoulder of his confessor, the guard 
noticed a smile playing over his wan features, and 
asked what it was that he saw. Waking a little, Sav- 
onarola replied : " I hear the sound of falling chains." 
This was no doubt a vision, which came to him in his 
dreams, of the disenthrallment of future ages from the 
shackles of ecclesiastical error and bigotry, of which 
his martyrdom was the beginning. 

The next morning, the 23d of May, the execution 
took place, in which Savonarola and his companions 
were first hanged and then burned. When the bishop 
read the formula, " I separate you from the Church 
Militant and the Church Triumphant," Savonarola 
cried : " Not from the Church Triumphant, that is be- 
yond thy power ! " Then he was suspended on the 
center beam of the cross, erected on the spot where 
the great fountain near the Palazzo Vecchio now 
gushes forth, and the pile was fired. At dusk the re- 
mains of Savonarola and his two fellow-victims were 
thrown into the Arno. 

During the year and a half after the death of Lo- 
renzo di Medici his eldest son Pietro held a tottering 
sway in Florence. Meanwhile Ludovico Sforza, Duke 
of Milan, became anxious lest Alphonso, son of Fer- 
dinand I. of Naples, should take up the cause of his 
nephew, Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Alphonso's son-in-law, 
whose power Ludovico, as has been seen, had wrested 
from him when he returned from exile. Ludovico, 
therefore, having made an alliance with the Pope 
and Venetians for mutual support, sought in vain to 
form, in addition, an Italian confederation composed 
of Florence, Rome and the Duke of Ferrara. Accord- 



'Age of Invasion 99 

ingly, as a final resort, Ludovico invited Charles VIII. 
of France to invade Italy and take Naples. 

King Ferdinand, when he heard that the French were 
coming, tried to make terms with Sforza, who, not 
wishing to come to an open quarrel, on account of 
the revolts in his duchy, put him off until he was 
sure of the French king. But Ferdinand died, and his 
son Alphonso, who succeeded him, was more obnox- 
ious to everybody than his father had been. 

The coming of the French into Italy was the begin- 
ning of an era of foreign invasion and despotism. 
Charles VIII. marched through Savoy, Piedmont and 
Tuscany, and entered Florence on one of the days 
when Savonarola was delivering his most powerful 
sermon in the Cathedral. He halted here because he 
could not advance further until he had made sure of 
the action of that city. The people were most anxious 
to get rid of Pietro de' Medici, Piero Capponi saying 
that " it was time to put an end to this baby govern- 
ment," In view of this, the authorities were inclined 
to treat the king well, housing him and his suite for 
eleven days in the deserted palace of the Medici, from 
which the family had fled at his approach. 

Pietro had at first tried to propitiate Charles VIIL, 
going out to meet him, surrendering Sarzana, and 
promising to give up Pisa, Leghorn and other places, 
and to advance the king a large sum of money. His 
overtures, however, being disregarded, he attempted to 
make himself master of the town, and assembled his 
guard before the Palazzo Vecchio; but the city had 
strong forces hidden, and as the great bell tolled the 
soldiers poured forth as if from the ground, and the 
people gathered from their shops and stalls crying: 
"Popolo! Liberta!" It was then that Pietro fled 



lOo Italy: Her People and Their Story 

through the gates never to return. Pisa, that for 
almost a century had been in subjection to Florence, 
now entreated the French to gain back liberty for her ; 
and Charles took their part. Notwithstanding this, 
however, the Florentines, then completely under the 
sway of Savonarola, who tolerated Charles VIII.'s 
coming as a part of God's beneficent providence to 
rid Florence of the Medici, still maintained their loy- 
alty to the French king. 

Charles VIII. for a while kept the Florentines down 
by threatening to bring back the Medici ; but one day 
he laid so grievous a list of propositions before the 
commissioners that Piero Capponi, enraged, snatched 
the paper from the scribes and tore it in fragments 
before the king's face, saying : " Sound your trum- 
pet and we will ring our bells." This, together with 
Savonarola's prophecies against him, frightened the 
king, since he knew that at the sound of the common 
bell so large a number of soldiers would present them- 
selves that his men-at-arms would be powerless. 
Accordingly he accepted their terms, promising to 
restore Pisa and the other places which Pietro di 
Medici had given up. But the last he never did. 

Charles VIII.'s father, Louis XL, had kept aloof 
from Italian affairs and had given up his right to 
Genoa to Francesco Sforza ; but Charles VIIL himself, 
as the representative of the Angevin House in the 
descent of King Rene of Anjou, claimed Naples ; and 
though his cousin, the young wife of the down- 
trodden Galeazzo Sforza, had entreated him in behalf 
of her father, King Alfonso of Naples, Charles in- 
tended to appropriate the kingdom, and afterwards to 
cross over and drive the Turks before him. He would 
then retake Jerusalem from the Infidels and win back 



Age of Invasion loi 

the Holy Sepulchre. He had induced Venice, as well 
as Ludovico Sforza, the usurping Duke of Milan, to 
help him, and as he approached Rome with a gorgeous 
pageantry of sixty thousand gayly equipped cavalry 
Alexander VI. threw open the gates of the Eternal 
City. His stay there, however, was for the most part 
perfunctory, notwithstanding that he forced Alexander 
VI. to agree to all his terms. 

The Italians looked with horror at the method of 
the invaders, since the French, from the time of the 
discovery of gunpowder, had guns made of brass, 
called cannon, which threw pointed iron balls, and 
could be fired at long range. On the other hand, they 
themselves still used great guns, with stone balls, which 
had to be drawn by oxen and were so heavy that they 
could be used with profit only in sieges. 

King Alfonso left the kingdom and fled to Sicily 
when he heard that the French were really coming; 
and his son Ferdinand II., being betrayed by his 
general-in-chief, was forced to seek refuge in the 
Island of Ischia. 

Although Charles VIII. was welcomed by the people 
of Sicily, he had made many enemies. In the first 
place he had failed to conciliate the Duke of Milan; 
and he had offended the Florentines because he favored 
the Pisans. The Venetians would not uphold a power 
which seemed likely to gain the ascendency over them ; 
and the Pope was dissatisfied because French rule 
interfered with his plans for increasing the influence 
of his house. Charles also angered the Orsini by 
favoring the Colonna ; while Maximilian, King of the 
Romans, was jealous because French rule was work- 
ing in such a way as might finally snatch from him 
his Emperor's crown. Thus it seems that everybody 



I02 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

was in a hurry to get Charles out of Italy, and Ludo- 
vico Sforza more than anyone else, though he had been 
the most influential in aiding him in the invasion of 
the peninsula. Ludovico now proceeded to make an 
alliance against the French with the Pope, Maximilian, 
Ferdinand 11. and the Venetians. 

Seeing that this combination was going to be too 
strong for them, the French army, which had already 
settled down to a life of voluptuous enjoyment, took 
a speedy flight, marching out of Naples in May, 1495. 
Charles' greatly reduced numbers, after passing the 
defiles of the Apennines, met a large army composed 
of troops from Venice and Milan under Francesco di 
Gonzaga in the plains of Lombardy. Charles VIII. 
was victorious, but he felt that it would not be prudent 
to remain in Italy, and accordingly pressed forward to 
Turin and returned to France. Ferdinand 11. , assisted 
by the Spanish, the Pope, the Venetians and the Duke 
of Milan, re-entered Naples and regained nearly all 
he had lost; but in less than a year he died and was 
succeeded by his uncle, Frederick. 

The Pisans, having been abandoned by Charles, were 
obliged to put themselves under the protection of the 
Venetians, who helped them to carry on war with 
Florence. In order to deliver that city from the in- 
fluence of the French, Ludovico Sforza tried to get 
Pietro di Medici back to Florence; but the govern- 
ment hindered Pietro from entering the city. The 
followers of Savonarola, who were called " Piagnoni,'' 
or " Weepers," because his preaching had brought 
them to repentance, clung to the old popular govern- 
ment, and still favored the French Alliance. The 
" Arabbiati,'' or the '* Angry," were the members of 
the oligarchy who had turned out the Medici; and 



Age of Invasion 103 

there was a third party, who in secret favored the 
Medici, the " Bigi," the " grey or shady." 

This was the time of Savonarola's greatest popular- 
ity and his influence was paramount. Under his super- 
vision troops of white-robed children had gone beg- 
ging through the streets, bearing crosses, and taking 
with them to be burned all articles of luxury, call- 
ing upon them an anathema, or curse. Some of the 
most excitable of Savonarola's followers then lost his 
cause by giving themselves up to the wildest religious 
excitement. They sang and danced in the streets and 
shouted " Viva Cristo," demanding that Christ should 
be proclaimed King of Florence. 

A low doorpost is seen at Loches where Charles 
VIII. struck his head accidentally and died April, 1498. 
He was succeeded by Louis XII., formerly Duke of 
Orleans, who was heir in the descent through his 
grandmother, Valentina, daughter of Gian Galeazzo 
Visconti. Alexander VI. favored his plans because 
he thought his son, Cesare Borgia, would gain by this 
means. The latter was already an archbishop and 
cardinal, but the king added the city of Valence in 
Dauphiny, with the title of Duke of Valentinois. 

The Duke of Orleans, the Florentines, the Duke 
of Ferrara and the Marquis of Mantua all having 
united against him, the Duke of Milan, Ludovico 
Sforza, was now left without support; and the forces 
of Louis XII. took possession of the duchy in 1499, 
while the duke, deserted even by his people on account 
of his oppression, was finally betrayed by his Swiss 
mercenaries. When discovered, dressed like one of 
these and trying to escape, he was imprisoned by Louis 
in the Castle of Loches, until he died. Deep down in 
these dungeons there is a gloomy, isolated cell, on the 



104 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

damp walls of which, to keep himself from madness, 
Ludovico carved his name and other curious inscrip- 
tions, leaving there the outlines of his own face, all 
of which are discernible to-day. Ludovico Sforza 
was recognized as the most " illustrious Maecenas " of 
his age. He did much to beautify the Certosa of 
Pavia, besides many other works demanding great 
culture. The legitimate duke, Gian Galeazzo Sforza, 
Ludovico's nephew, having died in the Castle of Pavia 
some years before, Louis XIL came into possession 
of Milan in 1500; and during the next twelve years 
all of Lombardy fell under his sway. He then turned 
his attention to Naples. Frederick, the new king, with 
his disbanded army and empty treasury, could offer but 
little resistance, although the troops Charles VHL 
had left were scattered and without a head. Ferdinand 
the Catholic, of Spain, soon made an alliance with 
Louis Xn. ; but at the same time arranged one with 
Frederick, who placed his fortresses in the possession 
of the Spanish troops. This was the Ferdinand con- 
nected with Columbus and the discovery of America, 
the consort of Isabella. When the French battalions 
crossed the frontier, Gonsalvo da Cordova, the Span- 
ish general, disclosed the treachery of the King of 
Spain in his alliance with the French, and his dis- 
loyalty to Frederick of Naples; and Frederick was 
forced to surrender and flee to Ischia, where he died 
three years after. 

In 1502 the French and Spaniards quarreled over 
the partition of the territory and fought a battle near 
Cerignola in Apulia, where the French were totally 
defeated by this Gonsalvo, called the Great Captain. 
Although his character was perfidious, he possessed 
great military genius and heroic courage. After one 



"Age of Invasion 105 

or two more disastrous battles, the French, fearing that 
they should lose Milan, abandoned the contest; and 
in this way the Spanish got possession of the Kingdom 
of Naples and held it, with some interruption in the 
eighteenth century, until 1861, excepting during the 
time of Napoleon's dominion. 

Alexander VI. granted Louis XIL a divorce from 
his first wife, and in return received the lordship of 
Imola, Faenza, Forli and Pesaro; and Cesare Borgia, 
in order to insure the inheritance, murdered all the 
heirs of these ruling families. Louis XIL refused to 
let Cesare annoy the Florentines, since he wanted them 
and the Bolognese on his side; but Cesare in 1502 
got hold of Urbino. He was physically strong, tall, 
handsome and mentally powerful ; but he was cruel 
and treacherous and soon gained the hatred and con- 
tempt of all Italy. A conspiracy called the Diet of 
Magione was made against him by Bentivoglio of 
Bologna, Baglione of Perugia, Antonio di Venassio 
of Siena and the Orsini. 

Under the cover of great friendship for the Orsini, 
Cesare in 1502 assembled Paoli and Francesco Orsini 
with others, apart from their troops in the Castle of 
^Senigallia, where he strangled them and annihilated 
the family. The old Orsini Palace is seen on the ruins 
of the Theater of Marcellus in Rome, where the later 
residence of the Neapolitan branch is in the Gravina 
Palace in Naples. 

Pope Alexander, whose corrupt reign had been 
filled with intrigue and the grossest crimes, died from 
drinking poison, which he had mixed for one of his 
cardinals. Cesare was only saved from the same 
fate by his temperate habits. The new Pope, Pius 
III., lived only a few months, and his successor, Julius 



io6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

IL, seized and imprisoned Cesare because he had not 
been of service to him against the Venetians and had 
failed to advance the growth of the Holy See. In 
1504 Cesare sought refuge with the Spanish general, 
Gonsalvo, who, ignoring his feigned friendship, sent 
him of? to Spain and had him shut up in the Castle 
of Medina del Campo. Finally Cesare escaped to 
his brother-in-law John, King of Navarre, and served 
in his army until he was shot under the walls of 
Viana. 

A legend revived in modern literature relates that 
Cesare neglected his beautiful bride, Charlotte d'Al- 
bret, and finally wished to get rid of her altogether. 
Taking advantage of her affection for him, he sent 
her a warm velvet canopy for her bed, adorned at the 
head by a protecting Madonna with a snowy white 
mantle. This he begged her to use, in order that he 
might think of her warm and protected in the cold 
north. But she sent back the message that it should 
not be put to any service until his return. The lovely 
princess, however, soon died and was wrapped in the 
curtains she had cherished for his sake, enfolded in the 
Madonna's white mantle. Scores of years after, when 
exhumed, her face was still fair and white, preserved 
by the arsenical compound with which Cesare had 
intended to poison her. 

Cesare's sister, Lucrezia Borgia, is conspicuous in 
history for her cruelty and for her knowledge of poi- 
sons, which she may have been falsely accused of using 
in disposing of persons who stood in her way. Gio- 
vanni Sforza of Pesaro was her first husband; after 
him Alphonso di Biseglia; and finally she married 
Alphonso d'Este, son of the Duke of Ferrara. She 
survived her whole family and lived surrounded by 



Age of Invasion 107 

poets and men of letters. Personally she was very 
attractive, having a dazzling complexion and silver- 
blond hair; and intellectually she is said by some to 
have been a genius. Charming as she was in person, 
however, her character is said to have been wholly 
depraved. Victor Hugo made her the subject of a 
play which is the basis for the text of the opera of 
Donizetti. 

Louis XII. in becoming Duke of Milan also gained 
Genoa. He ordered the Genoese coin to be stamped 
with his mark as a sign of submission. 

Ever since Charles VHL had gained independence 
for Pisa, the Florentines had made strenuous efforts 
to re-establish their power over the city. Finally, after 
many negotiations, Louis XH. and Ferdinand of Spain 
agreed to the sum of money Florence offered; and 
Pisa in 1509, after fifteen years of war, again lost her 
freedom. 

Venice now extended from Aquileia to the Adda, 
and on the south to Rimini and Ravenna. It included 
Friuli and the coast of Dalmatia, Cyprus, Crete, and 
some points on the Peloponnesus, besides towns in 
the Kingdom of Naples, such as Otranto, Brindisi and 
Trani, which had been given up as pledges in war. 
Disaffected by the gaining power of Venice, Louis 
Xn.^ Ferdinand of Spain, Julius H., besides some of 
the minor powers, all of which respectively desired 
parts of her dominion, united and formed the League 
of Cambray in 1508, agreeing to divide among them- 
selves all future conquests. 

This was a critical time for the Venetian States, since 
by the terms of the treaty they were reduced to their 
original islands ; but Julius IL, not wishing to see the 
other nations gaining so much ground and desiring 



io8 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Venice as a barrier against the Turks, went over to the 
side of the Venetians, and in 1510 broke up the League 
of Cambray. 

Julius 11. now turned all his attention to expelling 
the foreign powers from Italy; but, being thwarted 
in this by the French, he formed a Holy League, in 
which Henry VHL of England joined, and afterwards 
Ferdinand of Spain. The French were successful in 
several contests, conquering at Ravenna the Pope's 
forces led by Fabriccio Colonna, and the Spaniards 
by General Raymond di Cordona; but they lost their 
distinguished though brutal leader, Gaston de Fois, 
Duke of Nemours, called the *' Thunderer of Italy." 
A few months later Maximilian, then Emperor of Ger- 
many, joined the Holy Alliance and, with two thousand 
Swiss mercenaries belonging to the allies, overran 
the Duchy of Milan and drove the French out of 
Italy. The confederates of the old Ducal party now 
proclaimed Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico, duke. 

After the French were expelled from the kingdom 
the allies met at Mantua and decided that Florence, 
notwithstanding she had remained strictly neutral dur- 
ing the contest, must receive back the Medici. The 
Great Council agreed to admit the latter as private 
persons, but, the Florentines themselves refusing, the 
city was taken by storm August 29, 15 12, after a 
siege of twenty-one days, by the Spanish Viceroy Ray- 
mond di Cordona, a brutal massacre following. Don 
Raymond forced the Florentines to join the League 
against the French, besides paying him a large sum. 
Among the changes in the government during the long 
struggle in Florence, the office of Gonfaloniere had 
become a life tenure ; but this officer was now forced to 
leave the city, and after Giovanni di Medici with his 



Age of Invasion 109 

nephew Lorenzo, son of the banished Pietro, had taken 
possession, the common bell assembled the people, who 
were obliged to agree by means of a Balia to re-estab- 
lish the Medici in their former places of greatness. 

During these many dissensions. Pope Julius II., who 
had striven for temporal power in order to enlarge the 
Holy See rather than to enrich his house, died in 15 13. 
He was succeeded by Giovanni de' Medici (Leo X.) 
and the Holy League was broken up. 

Italy was the leader of the Renaissance, and the 
early part of the sixteenth century, called by the 
Italians the " Cinquecento,'' being a time of great 
intellectual growth, the arts and sciences flourished. 
The stiffness in art which had prevailed among the 
painters before Giotto and Fra Angelico, and which 
had arisen from their stereotyped religious views, 
relaxed as artists began to study the Grecian master- 
pieces of antiquity. Many of these great works of art 
the sculptors found in Lorenzo de' Medici's large collec- 
tion in Florence ; and the enthusiasm was further stimu- 
lated by discoveries made in the excavations in Rome 
during the reign of Julius II., particularly the exhum- 
ing of the Laocoon in the Baths of Titus. At the same 
time the Chapel of Masaccio became the school for 
painters in Florence. 

The Popes, who, since Gregory's VII.'s time, had 
ceased to devote all their energies to the good of the 
Church, now encouraged a more secular spirit in art 
and literature. Before Julius 11. died he had begun 
to pull down the old Basilica of St. Peter's to make 
room for the present magnificent structure; but Bra- 
manti, whom he employed as the first architect, con- 
ceived plans so vast that it took centuries to realize 
them. To carry on the work, Leo X. now introduced 



no Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the idea of granting indulgences ; and he was no doubt 
sufficiently gratified when he saw how this adroit 
scheme was bringing in millions, not only for his wars 
and the building of the great Cathedral, but to satisfy 
his own luxurious tastes. 

The patronage of art had reached its climax under 
Julius II., who brought from Florence to Rome the 
painter and sculptor, Michelangelo, and employed him 
in decorating the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, built 
by Sixtus IV. These adornments are at the present 
day more studied than any others of Michelangelo's 
works. 

It was later, in Clement VII.'s time, when Michel- 
angelo was engaged in painting " The Last Judgment " 
on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, that the romance 
of his life began with his ardent friendship for Vit- 
toria Colonna. In perfect reverence and loyalty " he 
lavished on her not only all the deep tenderness and 
devotion of which such a nature as his was capable, 
but he was prodigal in dispensing for her the treasures 
of his great genius; for she is said to have been the 
theme of his finest sonnets, which he mastered with the 
same gigantic stroke as he did the productions of his 
chisel; and his most exquisite drawings were created 
for her gratification. Besides all of this, he found 
time in the midst of his mighty undertakings to spend 
long, bright hours in her society; and finally when, 
during political crises, they were separated, a close 
correspondence kept their hearts united." 

This attachment was also a great solace to the 
gifted poetess, who rejected all suitors to her hand 
and remained true to the memory of the husband of 
her youth, the Marquis of Pescara, while cultivating 
literary pursuits to the end of her life in the compan- 




Artists. 
Raphael. Olotto, 

Mlchaelangclo. 
Fra Angel Ico. Leonardo da Vinci, 



^ge of Invasion in 

ionship of the great sculptor; and when she died 
Michelangelo's life was darkened by the shadow of 
this great grief. 

At Florence, Michelangelo had met Leonardo da 
Vinci and competed with him in making designs for 
the Palazzo Vecchio. Leonardo had been brought to 
Milan by Ludovico Sforza, and in the short time he 
was there he painted *' The Last Supper " on the wall 
of the Church of Maria delle Grazie. Unfortunately 
time has so injured the wonderful painting that it is 
feared it will soon be entirely obliterated. Leonardo 
di Vinci, like the Greeks, aimed at perfection ; therefore 
his works are few. 

In the time of Julius IL Raphael painted the " Dis- 
puta," which is in the Stanza della Segnatura in the 
Vatican in Rome. Most of the famous paintings of 
this celebrated artist, such as the Sistine Madonna, 
the " Madonna della Sedia," etc., were executed 
during the reign of Leo X., but some of those in the 
Stanze were finished by his pupils after his death. 
Raphael designed the galleries called his Loggie, which 
connect the different parts of the palace, and had 
them decorated as seen to-day. Between the years 
15 13 and 15 16, in Leo X.'s time, Raphael prepared 
drawings for some tapestries, the designs of which 
were taken from the Acts of the Apostles. They 
were worked by the weavers of Flanders, or some say 
in the looms of Brussels. Having been completed in 
the marvelously short time of three years, they were 
placed on the lower wall of the Sistine Chapel, and 
though afterwards carried off, they were returned 
and are to be seen at present in a much damaged con- 
dition in the Galleria degli Arazzi, in the Vatican. 
The designs, having necessarily been cut in strips for 



112 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the weavers, were left in Flanders, until Charles I. 
of England bought them. Cromwell preserved them, 
and in the reign of William III. they were joined 
together and hung in Hampton Court near London, 
but at present are to be seen in the South Kensington 
Museum. Raphael's last work, " The Transfigura- 
tion," was painted for Clement VII. 

In his historical scenes Raphael was assisted by 
many young artists, who frequently exhibited little of 
the genius and keen artistic insight of their master. 

Michelangelo's paintings are easily recognized by 
the magnificent outline of the drawing instead of 
the high coloring which is the characteristic of the 
Venetian School. The three great Venetian artists 
are Titian, Tintoretto and Paul Veronese. Benevenuto 
Cellini did his best work in the reign of Pope Clement 
VII. He is well known as a Florentine goldsmith, 
as well as being an engraver. 

The Golden Age of Leo X. was also distinguished 
by much literary achievement. Ariosto and Pietro 
Bembo, among others, wrote in Italian. Ariosto com- 
posed in an age of courtly splendor, at a time when 
the accomplished men of the day could equally wield 
a sword or write a love poem. Hence he wrote of 
mad adventure, of combat, of paladins and the lover's 
devotion. In his " Orlando Furioso" he captivated 
both the gay and the earnest. 

Tasso, a courtier as well as a poet, wrote, half a 
century later, when the bards of the sixteenth century, 
like those of two centuries earlier, wove their sorrows 
into their writings. 

Poor Tasso, out of joint with everybody and 
everything, finished only two poems of great merit, 
*' Aminta " and the '' Jerusalem DeHvered." The latter 



^Age of Invasion 113 

is said to be the best heroic poem of which Italy can 
boast. His " Rinaldo " was composed when he was 
seventeen years old, gaining him the name " Tassino " 
(dear little Tasso). Carducci says of Tasso that he 
was the legitimate heir of Dante ; but Tasso loved and 
commented on love in a learned style, even his passion 
for Leonora seeming generally philosophical. 

After all his misfortunes, Tasso, like Petrarch, was 
invited during the winter of 1595 to Rome to receive 
the laurel crown ; but before the laurel was green he 
saw his end approaching; and, ascending to the Mon- 
astery of St. Onofrio, on the Janiculum, he told the 
prior, who came out to meet him, that he had come 
to die with him. He was only fifty-one years old when 
the end came, in the April of 1595; and twelve years 
after a monument was raised to his memory. His 
cell in the monastery is at present an object of great 
interest, the same garden where he used to walk being 
still seen, together with the tree under which he sat, 
called the *' Tasso Tree." 

Among the prose writers of the Golden Age was 
Machiavelli. He brought out the " History of 
Florence," his native city, and a political essay called 
" The Prince," which relates rather grotesquely the 
duties of a monarch and what his character should be 
in the troublous and corrupt times in which he wrote. 
The Medici ignored him because he ridiculed them. 
Guicciardini also wrote the " History of Italy " from 
1494 to 1526. 



114 Italy: Her People and Their Story 



CHAPTER IX 

AGE OF SPANISH RULE. — CLEMENT VII. — FALL OF THE 
MEDICI. — THE JESUITS. — ^DECLINE OF VENICE. 

1513—1674 A.D. 

POPE JULIUS had so extended the rule of the 
Church that when Leo succeeded him he found 
that his sway was vast. King Ferdinand of Spain 
still held Sicily, Sardinia and Naples and was as 
anxious as the Pope to keep the French from getting 
the upper hand in Italy. The people, however, of the 
Duchy of Milan, which now included Genoa, were 
tired of the Sforza rule under Swiss support; and one 
Antonio Adorno of Genoa having incited a revolution 
in favor of Louis XII., Maximilian Sforza was obliged 
to flee. But the French were again defeated and Sforza 
returned to his duchy for two years longer. 

In 15 15 Louis XII. died and was succeeded by 
Francis I., who immediately claimed Milan. Leo X., 
alarmed, sent his nephew Lorenzo to meet the forces 
of Francis, who was joined by Robert de la Marck, 
the leader of the Free Company called the Black Band, 
and by the Doge of Genoa, Ottaviano Fregoso. While 
the Florentine forces and the Spanish under their vice- 
roy, together with the Papal army under Prospero 
Colonna, were marching to unite with the Swiss mer- 
cenaries, Prospero Colonna was taken prisoner at 
Villafranca. The remaining allies failing to appear, 
on account of lack of united action, the Swiss were 
left alone to meet the enemy. On September 13 the 



'Age of Spanish Rule 115 

great battle of Marignano was fought. The Swiss, 
who had now become the great mercenary force of 
Europe, made the French waver by their courage, 
keeping up the fight by moonlight, so that the victory 
was still undecided when the moon set. The next 
day the Venetians, however, attacked the Swiss in the 
rear, and the battle ended in favor of Francis, twenty 
thousand dead being left on the battlefield. This has 
been termed " a Battle of Giants." The Swiss now 
left the Italian service forever and hired out as mer- 
cenaries to the King of France. 

Ferdinand, King of Spain, who by his marriage 
with Isabella had united Aragon and Castile, died in 
15 16, and was succeeded by his grandson Charles. 
The latter was also the grandson of Maximilian the 
Great of Germany; for Charles' mother Joanna, the 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, had married 
Philip of Austria, the son of Maximilian and Mary of 
Burgundy. 

When Emperor Maximilian died in 15 19, Charles 
V. and Francis I. of France were candidates for the 
election; and Charles, who ruled over Spain and the 
Low Countries, the Two Sicilies, the Netherlands, 
Franche Compte, and the new colonies in America 
just discovered by Columbus, was now elected. He 
also inherited Imperial dignity and the title of King of 
Jerusalem. It was at this time that the title of King 
of the Romans was changed to Emperor elect, and 
became the natural appendage of the King of Ger- 
many. Charles V/s rule was much more extensive 
than that of the Roman Emperors in the days of their 
greatest glory ; and his ambition was even greater than 
theirs. This was the beginning of Spanish supremacy 
in Italy. 



ii6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

A reformation had long been brewing in the silence 
of the German cloisters, and was now led by the 
Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, who was assisted 
by the Elector of Saxony and many others in the Em- 
pire ; and this movement was joined later by Zwingli of 
Zurich and Calvin of Geneva. Charles V.'s interest as 
a Spaniard leaned toward the Church in this matter; 
and besides it was better policy to fight on the side of 
the Pope. Accordingly he made a treaty with Leo X. 
in 1 52 1, and in the long struggle which followed he 
was always most active in his hostilities against Luther 
and those especially interested in carrying on the 
Reformation. 

After the Battle of Marignano, September 13, 1515, 
when the Duchy of Milan fell into the hands of France, 
Maximilian Sforza was forced by Francis I. to retire 
into exile in France, where he lived as a private citizen 
until his death in 1530; but Charles V. and the Pope 
now availed themselves of the opportunity, in the 
absence of the governor placed over the duchy, to 
enter Milan without opposition, and to proclaim as 
Duke, Francesco Maria Sforza, Ludovico's son, and 
the younger brother of Maximilian Sforza. Fran- 
cesco Sforza IL married Christina, daughter of Chris- 
tian IL of Denmark. She was the princess who, when 
sought in marriage by Henry VIIL, is said to have 
replied that if she had two heads one of them should 
be at his disposal. 

At his death Sforza bequeathed the duchy to Charles 
v., Parma and Piacenza being given back to the 
Pope; and in the midst of his rejoicing at another 
triumph of his party over the French, Leo X. died in 
1 52 1. The culture and brilliancy of his reign have 
almost obliterated in the minds of posterity the cor- 



Age of Spanish Rule 117 

ruption and falseness of his character; but in fact it 
was the general depravity of his government and his 
wholesale barter of indulgences which brought the 
Reformation to a crisis. Fortunately for him, he 
passed away before the disturbance he had set in 
motion had proved destructive to the welfare of the 
Church. 

Hadrian VI., a native of Utrecht, succeeded Leo 
X. He was the most holy prelate of his age. The 
voluptuous Romans called him the " Barbarian Pon- 
tiflf," because he was a foreigner, and they hated him 
for his austerity of life, simplicity of manners and the 
sincerity of his views. They rejoiced when, unable 
to stem the tide of popular corruption, he died two 
years after his election. His greatest effort had been 
made in trying to arouse Christendom against the 
Turks. 

Venice, in her alliance with France at the Battle 
of Marignano, had gained all she had previously lost; 
but, dissatisfied, she now united with Charles V., agree- 
ing to defend the Kingdom of Naples against the 
Turks. In 1522 Francis I. was driven completely 
out of Italy by the defeat of his army near Milan; 
and Genoa, the only remaining seaport left to the 
French in the peninsula, was lost. Ottoviano Fregoso 
was taken prisoner in this contest and Antonio Adorno 
succeeded him. A League was now made between 
the Pope, the Emperor elect, the King of England, the 
Archduke of Austria and the Duke of Milan in opposi- 
tion to the French. Francis, however, was again try- 
ing to force his way into Italy, when his chief general, 
Charles of Bourbon, " the Great Constable," became 
disaffected because the king's mother, Louise of Savoy, 
hating him, made a claim on his estates, and formed 



ii8 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

an alliance with Charles V., Henry of England, and 
the Pope. Francis, having heard of the powerful com- 
bination against him, did not dare to leave the coun- 
try for fear of an English and Spanish invasion. 
Accordingly he gave the command of the French 
troops to Guillaume de Bonnivet, the Admiral of 
France, who was soon defeated by the diplomacy of 
Prospero Colonna, and obliged to quit the country. 

In 1524, when the French army was retiring, their 
rear was defended by Chevalier Bayard, the ideal 
knight of chivalry. In directing the retreat Bayard 
was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. The Great 
Constable found him under a tree, dying with his face 
still turned to the enemy and his eyes fixed on the 
cross formed by the hilt of his sword. The Constable 
tried to console him; but Chevalier Bayard replied: 
" It is not I who am an object of pity, for I die as a 
man of honor. It is you who have turned traitor to 
your country and king." 

Though the Great Constable forced the French to 
leave Italy, he himself was obliged to retire from an 
encounter in Provence; and in doing so he gave the 
enemy the advantage, so that the French again crossed 
the Mont Cenis and would have marched directly to 
central and southern Italy had not Charles V. by his 
diplomacy circumvented them. The latter's cause, how- 
ever, was almost lost, when Giovanni di Medici (de- 
scended from Cosimo I.), of the younger Medici line 
and leader of the Black Band, went over to the French. 
Besides this, at that same time the Pope became neu- 
tral. The Great Constable, however, with the Marquis 
of Pescara, came back to the relief of Charles' army 
and united with the Emperor's brother, Duke Fer- 
dinand of Germany, who, with a force under General 



Age of Spanish Rule 119 

Freundsburg, on the 24th of February, 1525, defeated 
the French at Pavia. Francis and his brother Henry 
were taken prisoners, with eight thousand others ; and 
many were drowned in the Ticino, Admiral Bonnivet 
and Richard de la Pole being among the French 
nobles and commanders slain. 

Francis was shut up in the Castle of Pizzighittone, 
near Milan ; but was afterwards confined in the Tower 
of Alcazar at Madrid, where he had plenty of time to 
indulge in his favorite pastime of writing sonnets. 
Duke Francesco Sforza IL, assisted by Henry VHL 
and the Venetians, and joined by the dowager queen 
of France, all united to drive the Spaniards and Ger- 
mans out of Italy, and they also attempted to deliver 
Francis I. from prison. They were abetted by the 
Pope, the combination being called the Holy League. 
The Marquis of Pescara, however, discovered the plot, 
and though for a time he pretended to favor it, soon 
betrayed the whole plan, and at the command of 
Emperor Charles V. seized all the strongholds in the 
duchy except the castles of Cremona and Milan. The 
Marquis of Pescara died before the end of that year. 
He was the husband of the gifted Vittoria Colonna. 
The Great Constable again took command in the Mar- 
quis of Pescara's place; and, although his army was 
scantily supplied with food and pay, he was victorious 
and forced the Duchy of Milan to endure every kind 
of outrage because the duke had joined the Holy 
League. 

In the beginning of 1526 Francis I. obtained his 
freedom by renouncing his claims to Naples, Milan, 
Genoa and Asti in the Treaty of Madrid ; but as soon 
as he was restored to his kingdom he declared all his 
concessions null and void because they had been made 



120 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

under duress. The Pope then tried to induce him to 
join the League. 

In the spring of 1527 the German troops under Gen- 
eral Freundsburg were joined by the army of the 
Great Constable, which had become mutinous on ac- 
count of the scantiness of the pay. These marched 
quickly towards Rome, to overthrow the Pope, whose 
generals were defending the cit\\ Freundsburg died 
in a fit just before reaching Rome; and the Great 
Constable on the 6th day of May, 1527, assaulted the 
city. 

Although the Constable was slain while scaling the 
walls, his forces continued the struggle and the " cap- 
ital of the world soon lay at the mercy of thirty or 
forty thousand ungovernable soldiers." The Papal 
Guards were put to flight and the Vatican and the 
Church of St. Peter's plundered. The German Luther- 
ans destroyed, as idolatrous, pictures and statues which 
were priceless, but the Spaniards committed even 
greater atrocities ; and for seven months the city was 
at the mercy of an army which became a mob, greater 
violence being inflicted than during the barbarian inva- 
sions. Clement VIL, who had succeeded Hadrian VL 
in 1523, himself escaped to the impregnable fortress 
of St. Angelo, where he lived in close confinement for 
six months. 

This great diplomatist had earlier, as Giulio de' 
Medici, been the counselor of Leo X., and for a long 
time the real ruler of Florence. At present, however, 
Clement VIL's position was no easy one, since, on 
account of preserving the '' balance of power," he did 
not desire that the Sicilies and the Duchy of Milan 
should be under the same rule; and he was accord- 
ingly hostile to the Spaniards, who had cared nothing 



Age of Spanish Rule 121 

for the interests of his predecessors, and had only 
cultivated them in order to use them to overthrow 
French power and set up their own in northern Italy. 

Meanwhile, outside the city harvests were destroyed 
and thousands of families had perished through sick- 
ness, famine and the sword. Giovanni de' Medici, who 
had led his Black Band against Freundsburg, con- 
tinued to worry the German forces, until mortally 
wounded in 1526. Although already celebrated all 
over the Continent for bravery and ability, he was only 
twenty-eight years of age when he died. 

The six years after the death of Leo X. were the 
darkest recorded in Italian history. During this time 
little duchies arose and went out forever, and some 
permanent despotisms were established. New terri- 
tory was annexed and then detached; and there was 
constant change without progress, and in the midst 
of it all the plague again broke out. 

The disturbances in Rome produced such an excite- 
ment that the Holy League reunited. This now in- 
cluded, besides Henry VIII. and Francis I., the Pope, 
the Republics of Venice and Florence, the Dukes of 
Milan and Ferrara and the Marquis of Mantua. Eng- 
land supplied the money and France sent an army un- 
der Marshal de Lautrec, who took Alessandria, sacked 
Pavia and in collusion with Andrea Doria removed 
Adorno from Genoa. Lautrec was assisted by the 
remnant of Giovanni de' Medici's Black Band; and, 
marching into the Kingdom of Naples, would have 
undermined the Spanish strength had he not found 
that kingdom occupied by the Prince of Orange. As 
it was, the whole French Invasion failed. In 1528 
Andrea Doria was restored to power in Genoa, and, 
disaffected with Lautrec's methods, he deserted him, 



122 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the invading army of the latter enduring the greatest 
vicissitudes on account of not being accHmated. 

The news of the capture of Clement VII. caused 
great rejoicing in Florence, since it is not only proved 
that Savonarola had prophesied correctly concerning 
this Pope's reign, but also because his rule had been 
scarcely tolerated during the minority of the young 
Medici. Accordingly the leading citizens told Alex- 
ander, Clement VII/s nephew, and the young Cardinal 
Ippolito, the natural son of Lorenzo, that they must 
go; and on May 17, 1527, Florence was for the sec- 
ond time free from the yoke of that family, Nicolo 
Capponi being chosen Gonfaloniere. The government 
then proceeded to form an alliance against Charles V. 

In the Peace of Cambray, 1529, notwithstanding all 
that had been done for Francis, the latter, hoping to 
place himself on a more solid basis, left Florence and 
all his other allies in the lurch. The various other 
states and duchies in connection with Francis joined 
the party of Charles V., and in 1530 the latter was 
crowned King of Italy and Emperor by Clement VII. 
in Bologna. 

The Florentines now saw that they must again come 
under the power of the Medici or struggle alone for 
their liberty ; and when they heard of the perfidy of the 
French king in leaving them out in the cold at 
the Treaty of Cambray, their courage almost entirely 
deserted them. They had learned, however, from 
Machiavelli, in his " Prince," the necessity of organ- 
ized resistance; and the inspiration received from the 
Black Band of Tuscany had kept their military vigor 
alive. Michelangelo, also, was ready to assist them; 
and, when he was appointed to superintend the building 
of the fortifications of Florence, laid waste the mag- 



Age of Spanish Rule 123 

nificent suburbs in all directions, lest the enemy should 
find a hiding place in these charming environs. 

Charles V. soon sent an army of German and Span- 
ish troops under the Prince of Orange, to assault the 
city. These were at first beaten off by Stephen 
Colonna, the commander of the fortress of San Min- 
iato; and Francesco Ferruccio, a former leader of the 
Black Band, fortified Empoli, making it a storehouse 
from which the Florentines were supplied with food, 
Empoli, however, was betrayed while Francesco Fer- 
ruccio was away retaking Volterra. The Florentines 
were soon in great want of provisions, especially since 
Ferruccio, while marching over the mountains of Pis- 
toia, in order to reinforce the city, was misled by his 
guides and his plans were revealed to the enemy. A 
desperate encounter took place in a little hamlet among 
the hills, and the Prince of Orange being shot, it looked 
as if the Florentines had gained the day; but Fer- 
ruccio, pierced with many bullets, was taken prisoner 
and then struck down in the market place by an 
Imperialist general, meeting his death fearlessly. 

The last hopes of Florence now faded. After an 
heroic defense the city was betrayed, in 1530, through 
the treachery of Malatesta Baglione, chief captain of 
the armies of the republic; and the Signoria were 
coerced into capitulating to Emperor and Pope. The 
former was to regulate the government of the city, 
which, though it nominally preserved its liberty, was 
obliged to pay a ransom and give hostages to admit 
the Medici. A Balia was forced upon the citizens and 
the republican magistrates were compelled to lay down 
their office; and thus the world-renowned republic 
which had lasted four centuries became a prey to the 
depraved ambition of Clement VIL, the most crafty 



124 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

and corrupt of all the Medici ; and for three hundred 
years after, the history of Florence is almost a cipher, 
her provinces and dukedoms being at the beck and call 
of the sovereigns of the rest of Europe. 

When the Medici took vengeance on those who had 
fought for the freedom of the city, Michelangelo 
was saved by Pope Clement VIL, who needed him to 
complete some artistic work. The old bell which had 
pealed forth so many times in the cause of freedom, 
bringing the citizens together to consult or fight, was 
now broken up, a new Parliament was chosen, a new 
Council elected for life with a new Senate ; and Ales- 
sandro di Medici was placed over them as duke. All 
the years of pestilence, war and famine had not so 
desolated the city, nor had the misery of the people 
ever been so hopeless as during the six years of Ales- 
sandro de' Medici's rule. He was finally murdered by 
a distant kinsman, and with him the elder line died out, 
Ippolito the Cardinal having previously been assassi- 
nated at Alessandro's instigation. 

The infamous Pope Clement VII. died in 1534, and 
was succeeded by Paul III., who by his ability gained 
the respect of his subjects. The latter hated the Medici 
and occupied much of his time in exalting the Farnese 
family. Cosimo II., the son of Giovanni of the Black 
Band, was chosen by a party led by the historian 
Guicciardini, and was so powerful that after one or 
two revolutions the Florentines were obliged to sub- 
mit, and Cosimo's reign crushed out all that remained 
of the old republican spirit. He, like the earlier of the 
Medici, cast a false halo over tyranny, by ruling the 
State with apparent justice and moderation as well as 
by patronizing art and literature. His successor, 
Ferdinand, however, governed badly and all the pros- 



Age of Spanish Rule 125 

perlty of Cosimo.II/s reign was wiped out. Finally, 
two centuries later, the last Grand Duke of the Medici 
family, Giovanni Gaston, died in 1737 after a disso- 
lute life. 

Pope Paul III., who had persuaded the Emperor to 
give his daughter Margaret, widow of Alessandro di 
Medici, to his own grandson, Ottoviano, now bestowed 
the coveted Church possessions, Parma and Piacenza, 
on his own son, Pietro Luigi, at the same time de- 
priving Ottaviano of Camerino in order to give it to 
the Church. Ottaviano, indignant, took sides with 
his father-in-law, Charles V., and many conspiracies 
against Spanish power arose in which Pietro Luigi was 
at the head. He was at last assassinated at Piacenza 
by Fernando da Gonzaga, the viceroy of Naples. 
Paul III. died in 1553 and was succeeded by Julius III., 
who restored Parma to Ottaviano. Alessandro, the 
son of the latter and grandson of Charles V., became 
a famous leader under Philip 11. and was made gov- 
ernor of the Netherlands. He had been placed at the 
head of the Spanish Armada; but the fleet of Hol- 
land and Zeeland shut him up while the English 
destroyed the Armada. His descendants were the 
Dukes of Parma until 1731. 

There were so many other complications in the vari- 
ous kingdoms of Charles V., that, worn out by the 
turmoil, Charles in .1555 gave up the Low Countries 
and Burgundy to his son Philip, who already ruled 
Sicily and Naples; and in 1556 he retired altogether, 
surrendering to Philip his rule in Spain, at the same 
time giving the title of Emperor to his brother 
Ferdinand. 

A Council had met at Trent in 1545 to define the sit- 
uation and to turn out of the Church such as held the 



126 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

new doctrine of the Reformation. The reform views 
had much less influence in Italy than in other coun- 
tries, yet there were some persons in almost every town, 
who , seeing the scandalous lives of the Popes and 
Cardinals, were in favor of a Reformation in some 
form. The Society of Jesuits soon sprang up to check 
such heretical tendencies, their founder being a Span- 
iard, Ignatius Loyola, who had borne arms against the 
French. In 1540, with the permission of Paul III., he 
laid the foundation of this " Society of Jesus," and 
afterwards labored with untiring energy to crush the 
Reformation. Under Loyola, that system of court 
spies, judges and executioners, known as the Inquisi- 
tion, was set up by Pope Paul III. 

Pope Paul IV., who followed Julius III, in all 
Church affairs, established more firmly the Inquisition. 
On account of the hostility of the populace against 
Paul IV., the citizens at the news of his death formed 
a mob and opened the prison doors; and after liber- 
ating the prisoners, whom he had ready for the Inqui- 
sition, they set fire to the building. 

At first the Jesuits numbered only sixty members; 
but, assisted by privileges granted by the Pope, they 
gained great power among the people. There has 
been much discussion concerning the benefits con- 
ferred upon mankind by this order. Their worldwide 
missionary work was no doubt of great service to 
humanity, for through it they established seats of 
learning, and in it exhibited wonderful devotion to duty 
in every direction. They obliged the Popes to reform 
their lives, and the requirements of their holy office 
were soon defined. The Jesuits, however, presently 
became the enemies of freedom and progress, because 
they thought it was for the interest of the Church. 



'Age of Spanish Rule 127 

Culture and science among laymen was frowned down 
by the order, Galileo being twice prosecuted on account 
of his discoveries. All books printed in the country 
were subject to the criticism of a Jesuit tribunal; and 
accordingly literature gradually disappeared and art 
became enfeebled, since painters were obliged to con- 
fine themselves to religious subjects. Many of the 
oppressed fled to England and Germany and Switzer- 
land, to escape being burned as heretics. The Jesuits 
were not suppressed until the end of the eighteenth 
century, when a solemn Bull was hurled against them 
by Clement XIV. 

Among the reformers who flourished in the sixteenth 
century there was a sect called the Waldenses, who 
dwelt for the most part in the western Alps. These 
took their name from Peter Waldo, a reformer of the 
twelfth century, though it has been said that Waldo 
took the name of the sect when he became a convert 
to their views. At that time the Bible had been trans- 
lated into their language, and from its study they 
thought their faith was more genuine than that of the 
Albigenses, a sect then almost extinct on the other side 
of the Alps ; and accordingly there were many quarrels 
between them, each claiming that their religion was 
the only correct doctrine. 

During the sixteenth century both people and rulers 
degenerated, and, domestic life losing much of its 
sacredness, true social standards for the most part 
were sacrificed. 

The Papal States remained unchanged in this cen- 
tury, fourteen such insignificant Popes occupying the 
Chair of St. Peter that it began to be apparent that 
Pontifical power was on the decline. Gregory XIIL, 
however, the successor of Pius V. and Pope between 



128 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

1572 and 1585, founded many useful institutions. He 
ornamented the galleries of the Vatican, and is espe- 
cially famous for completing the reform of the calendar 
which Julius Caesar had commenced so many centuries 
before. 

Turkish power reached its climax in the last part of 
the sixteenth century under Sultan Solyman. Italy was 
never free from his ravages, the towns in the south, 
including the island of Venice in the Adriatic, and 
Corfu, which Venice held for the most part after the 
crusades until 1797, being especially subject to his 
depredations. Solyman's son Selim was a no less 
dreaded opponent, and, he having determined to reduce 
Cyprus, which had belonged to Venice for eighty years, 
the great Battle of Lepanto was fought. The com- 
mander having been forced to make terms with Selim's 
general, Mustapha, was tortured and slain, and the 
garrison sent to the galleys. 

The Venetians at last had to accept the aid of an 
allied fleet gathered by the exertions of Pius V. This 
was victorious over the Turks outside of the Gulf of 
Lepanto; and, on October 7, 1571, with great loss on 
both sides, Venice and a great part of Christendom 
were temporarily delivered from the Infidels. The allies 
failed to make a treaty, however, and the Venetians in 

1573 were forced to yield their claims to Cyprus and 
pay a large tribute to the Sultan, thus giving the same 
prestige to the Turks as if the latter had been victo- 
rious at Lepanto. This was the close of the era of 
Venice's greatness; though later in the seventeenth 
century she waged effective warfare in the Mediterra- 
nean against some Bulgarian pirates called the Uscoc- 
chi. In 1669, after a siege by the Turks of more than 
twenty years, she also lost the island of Candia ; but in 



Age of Spanish Rule 129 

1684 her general Morosini conquered the whole of the 
Peloponnesus, which he held for thirty years. 

After Morosini's death, however, Venice had no 
part in the Eastern Empire excepting the Ionian 
Islands ; and her war with the Infidels, which had lasted 
with some interruptions for five hundred years, did not 
end until the Peace of Passarowitz in 1718. She was 
cut ofif from trade with the East and Egypt through 
the Red Sea by the success of the Turks, while at the 
same time the lately discovered passage round the 
Cape of Good Hope destroyed her trade overland 
with the Orient. After these reverses the nobility 
sank into such vices as gaming, and the common peo- 
ple were left in the grasp of the Council of Ten. Her 
decline, however, had commenced commercially to- 
gether with that of the rest of Italy at the time of the 
discovery of America; since, after this, people had 
larger power of development and the traffic of the 
world changed ground. Up to that time Italy had 
monopolized nearly all art and all the best literature 
as well as all fashion and elegance. The principal 
street in London was called Lombard Street, and 
Florentine bankers advanced money to the most 
powerful princes of Europe. Genoa and Venice held 
mercantile dominion over the Mediterranean; and the 
styles came from Milan ; so that to this day the person 
who trims bonnets is called a milliner. 

From this epoch the Mediterranean became virtually 
only a large lake, and but for the Suez Canal com- 
merce would be almost entirely oceanic. A few years 
ago, when Italy observed the Centennial in honor of 
Columbus and other American explorers, she is said 
by Italian statesmen to have celebrated the first cause 
of her decadence. 



130 Italy: Her People and Their Story 



CHAPTER X 

THE RISE OF THE HOUSE OF SAVOY. — HER DUKES. — 
CHARLES EMANUEL I. THE GREAT. — EXCITEMENT 

ATTENDING STRUGGLE OF SPANISH SUCCESSION. 

MASANIELLO. — ITALY^S KINGDOMS, DUCHIES AND 
REPUBLICS AT NAPOLEON'S INVASION. 

1574—1792 A.D. 

AT the time of the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis, cele- 
.brated between France and Spain in 1559, there 
were only four free governments in Italy. These were 
Venice, the little republic of San Marino, Genoa and 
Lucca. The last two were only such in name, since 
they were subjects of the greatest power in Italy, the 
King of Spain, who ruled Naples, Sicily and the island 
of Sardinia as well as Florence and Milan. There was, 
however, another influence spreading in a remote cor- 
ner of Italy; for a clause in the Treaty of Cambresis 
recognized the right of Emanuel Filibert, Duke of 
Savoy, to Piedmont. It was his family which three cen- 
turies later was to emancipate and reunite the whole of 
Italy. They at this epoch ruled the most genuine Ital- 
ian State in the peninsula — Savoy, which was formerly 
only a little domain in the valley of the Savoyard, 
earlier held by the Counts of Maurienne. This diminu- 
tive estate had extended its territory over a realm of 
mountains, ravines and forests on the western slope 
of the Alps, and continued to retain the same name. 

The most famous of the nobles who became subjects 
of Emperor Conrad when Rudolph III., King of Bur- 



Rise of the House of Savoy 131 

gundy died in 1027, had been Humbert, Count of Bur- 
gundy, called " Humbert of the White Hand." Some 
trace his lineage back to the Saxon Wittekind, and 
others to the Margraf of Ivrea. In any case he was 
fifth in descent from Boso of Provence. He had re- 
ceived from Rudolph HI. the counties of Savoy and 
Maurienne, and by the marriage of Humbert's son 
with Adelaide, daughter of the Count of Turin, Bur- 
gundy and western Lombardy were united, their 
heirs becoming Counts of Savoy. Little by little they 
lost their possessions on the French side of the Alps, 
but gained new ones in Italy, until their boundaries 
touched the Mediterranean at Savona. In the thirteenth 
century Savoy became influential among the European 
countries, since the daughter of one of her counts was 
the mother of Margaret, wife of Louis IX. of France, 
of Eleanor, queen of Henry HI. of England, and of 
Beatrice, wife of Charles of Sicily. The family 
divided in the next two hundred years, its elder branch 
ruling Savoy and the northern shores of the Lake of 
Geneva, and the younger division holding Piedmont, 
with Turin for its capital. 

The Humberts in the meantime had succeeded the 
Amadeus, and the Amadeus the Humberts, one after 
the other as dukes. They were always engaged in 
warfare with their neighbors up to the time of Ama- 
deus VIII. , who had come into the inheritance of the 
elder line in 1391 ; and in 1418 had joined Piedmont 
to Savoy and received the title of duke from Em- 
peror Sigismund. Amadeus VIII. vanquished the 
Marquises of Montferrat and of Saluzzo, and his 
kinsman, the Prince of Achaia, his three most effective 
antagonists. He annexed Saluzzo and Chivasso and 
received Vercelli from Filippo Maria Visconti, only 



132 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

being checked later in his advance on Milan by Fran- 
cesco Sforza. 

Amadeus VIII. was one of the most remarkable 
characters of his day. He not only built up the for- 
tunes of his house, but, through it, of all Italy. A 
conspiracy against his life, together with other causes, 
resulted in his abdication in 1434 in favor of his son 
Louis, after which he entered a cloister as a priest. 
Later he became anti-Pope as Felix V., at the Council 
of Basle, in place of Eugenius IV. ; but he resigned 
in favor of Nicholas V. in 1449. His two sons mar- 
ried princesses of Cyprus; afterwards through them 
the Dukes of Savoy claimed the title of Kings of 
Cyprus. In the time of Francis I. of France Savoy 
was enfeebled by the fickle course of her duke, 
Charles III. There were troubles between the latter 
and the Imperial City of Geneva, which revolted, the 
nobles of Vaud supporting him while Berne, Freiburg 
and King Francis I. adhered to Geneva. 

It was during this war that Bonnivard was kept 
confined for six years in the Castle of Chillon, on 
account of having dared to take sides against Savoy. 
His footprints are still seen worn into the grim stone 
pavement in the dungeon deep down below the castle. 
Lord Byron records the fact most pathetically in his 
'' Prisoner of Chillon." 

The war was decided in favor of Geneva, in 1536, 
after which the French took away the larger part of 
Savoy's territory. Charles V., who had helped the 
Duke at first, occupied Piedmont, while Duke Charles 
was left with only Nice. Savoy and Piedmont were 
the center of much of the strife between France and 
Spain in the sixteenth century ; and when Duke Charles 
III. died in 1553, his son Emanuel Filibert, styled the 



Rise of the House of Savoy 133 

" Iron Head " and the '' Prince with a Hundred 
Eyes," was left a " duke without a duchy " ; but this 
was more than compensated for by his great ability. 

The " Little Cardinal/' as he was also called, be- 
cause as a younger son he was intended for the 
Church, was suddenly raised to the throne by the 
death of an elder brother. A Venetian ambassador 
writes of him as follows : '' In Germany he is re- 
garded as a German on account of his descent from 
the Saxons. The Portuguese claim him through his 
Portuguese mother; and the French consider him a 
Frenchman, both on account of his wife and his sub- 
sequent relations to them ; but he himself is an Italian, 
and wishes to be looked upon as such." 

Among the conspicuous acts of Emanuel Filibert 
was his bravery at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557. 
Here, as an officer in the army of his cousin, Philip 
II. of Spain, he distinguished himself when the French 
were routed by that monarch, in a victory giving rise 
to the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis. He now married 
Margaret, daughter of Francis I. and sister of Henry 
II. of France; and in 1574 the French and Spaniards 
ceded to him the places which had been kept from him 
at the Treaty of Cambresis, with the exception of 
Turin. Afterwards, he devoted himself to strengthen- 
ing the kingdom until he died in 1580. From that 
time the Dukes of Savoy became Italians instead of 
Burgundians; and the capital being changed from 
Chambery to Turin, Piedmont became a more impor- 
tant factor in Italian affairs than Savoy. Emanuel 
Filibert held Nice, Bresse, and other territories north- 
west of the Alps, as well as Savoy. 

Charles Emanuel, called the '* Great/' succeeded his 
father Emanuel Filibert ; and, in order to gain the sup- 



134 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

port of Spain, he married Catherine, sister of King 
Philip 11. of Spain. Venice and the other Italian 
powers, jealous of the Dukes of Savoy, who had be- 
come some of the most notable men of the sixteenth 
century, depended upon France to check the power of 
Charles Emanuel. In the time of the struggle with 
the Huguenots, the latter joined the Catholic League 
under the Duke of Guise and invaded Provence, lay- 
ing siege to Geneva. When Henry III. was assassi- 
nated in 1589, some supported the claim of Charles 
Emanuel to the throne of France through his mother, 
who was Margaret, daughter of Francis I.; but after 
the Battle of Ivry Henry of Navarre became King 
of France as Henry IV., and Charles Emanuel was 
required to give up Provence. A protracted war 
ensued, which was only brought to a close, in 1601, 
by the Treaty of Lyons, according to the terms of 
which Charles Emanuel had to renounce Provence by 
giving up Bresse, Bugey and Pays de Gex, but was 
allowed to keep Saluzzo. This drove the French out 
of Italy and, giving Charles Emanuel control of the 
French side of the Alps, was the stepping-stone which 
finally made the future rulers of Savoy Italian kings. 

During the fifty years of Charles Emanuel's reign 
there were disputes with Spain with reference to Val- 
tellina, which has only belonged to Italy since 1859, 
and differences about the Grisons, still a part of 
Switzerland, Louis XIII. and Venice siding with 
Charles Emanuel against Philip IV. The latter as well 
as Philip III. had always coveted this territory in 
order to insure a thoroughfare between Austria's and 
Spain's possessions in Italy. In the course of this war 
there were many plots against the oligarchy, in which 
the people of Genoa sought the aid of Charles Eman- 



Rise of the House of Savoy 135 

uel, the Vaschero Conspiracy being one of them. This 
was similar to the " Conspiracy of the Fieschi " in 
1547, which well-nigh extinguished the Doria family 
in Genoa. Charles Emanuel also had aspirations with 
reference to Montf errat, but this was given to France ; 
and, when Charles died, all his diplomacy came to 
naught except the acquisition of a few places on the 
borders of Montferrat. Casale, with a fortress built 
in 1090, was not added until later. 

Christina, the wife of Victor Amadeus I., successor 
of Charles Emanuel the Great, was the daughter of 
Henry IV. of France and the mother of Charles 
Emanuel IL, who commenced to reign while a youth. 
Christina was also the sister of Louis XIII. On 
account of this fact Cardinal Richelieu had a great 
influence over her husband, Victor Amadeus I., forcing 
him to take part against Spain; and this influence 
continued, after the king's death, during Christina's 
regency. Charles Emanuel II. developed influential 
traits of character, and under him the princes of the 
House of Savoy returned to their allegiance to Spain; 
and the trouble of the two nations ended by the 
Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. For six years, with 
the aid of the Spanish, Charles Emanuel II. withstood 
the despotism of Louis XIV., and under him Pied- 
mont acquired much military renown. 

In spite of promises which Charles V. and his 
brother Ferdinand had made, the viceroys in the 
Kingdom of Naples often imposed unfair assessments 
on the most common necessities of life. In 1647, on 
account of a new and very unjust taxation, Tomaso 
Aniello, a fishmonger, called Masaniello, stirred up 
the whole people and, putting himself at their head, 
gained possession of the government. The mob burnt 



136 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the Custom House and shut up the Duke of Arcos, 
who was then viceroy, in the Castle of St. Elmo in 
Naples; but at the same time an insurrection in Pa- 
lermo increased the danger to such an extent that the 
Duke of Arcos was able to take advantage of it and 
gain over the principal citizens. 

Although Masaniello was nothing but a common 
peasant, he possessed wonderful personal mag'netism, 
and the viceroy was obliged to combat his efforts by 
strategy. Accordingly at a feast he drugged him with 
mixed wine, which upset his balance and made him do 
such extravagant things that he lost his influence ; and 
the insurrection fell to pieces. The Neapolitans had 
looked upon Masaniello with a superstitious regard, 
and when he was assassinated they lost their spirit, 
and never again made but feeble attempts against 
Spanish rule. 

The French under Louis XIV. were also at war with 
Spain; but, in 1678, Louis made peace by the Treaty 
of Nimwegen, and, having withdrawn his forces, he 
formed an alliance with Victor Amadeus II., Charles 
Emanuel II. 's successor, ceding the fortress of Casale 
to him ; and in 1684 Louis made Genoa submit under a 
bombardment. 

The peace was not interrupted for twenty years; 
but the 1st of November, 1699, Charles 11. of Spain 
died and in his will Philip of Anjou, grandnephew 
and grandson of Louis XIV., was declared heir to the 
Spanish dominions, with the title of Philip V. The 
right to the throne was contested by Archduke Charles, 
son of Leopold of Austria, who, through his mother, 
was in a direct descent, both she and the grand- 
mother of Philip V, being daughters of Philip IV. 

This war of the Spanish Succession raged four- 



'Rise of the House of Savoy 137 

teen years and deluged the whole continent in blood. 
The Spanish court sent orders to the governors of 
Naples, Milan, Sicily, Sardinia and Tuscany, to 
acknowledge the authority of Philip V. ; Victor Ama- 
deus 11. also supported the latter, who was his son-in- 
law, while England, Prussia and Holland allied them- 
selves with Austria; and Italy became the battle- 
ground of the French and Austrian armies. The 
united efforts of Prince Eugene of Savoy and Marl- 
borough drove the French out of Lombardy and 
Naples, giving the prestige to the Austrian competitor, 
who was proclaimed King of Spain in Vienna, as 
Charles III. After trying two years to establish him- 
self in Spain as their ruler, the Archduke's brother, 
Emperor Joseph, died, and the former was elected 
Emperor of Austria as Charles VI. Now all parties, 
in order to maintain the balance of power, were glad 
to unite on the 7th of September in the Peace of 
Utrecht, and recognize the Bourbon, Philip V., as 
King of Spain, on condition that he give up his Ital- 
ian possessions and his rights to the crown of 
France. 

Victor Amadeus IL, by the Treaty of Utrecht, gained 
Sicily, Montferrat and Alessandria, and a part of 
Lombardy, and his rights as an independent sovereign 
were acknowledged. The Neapolitan kingdom and 
the island of Sardinia, the Duchies of Milan and 
Mantua, all passed to Austria. The Austrian Charles 
also hoped to gain Tuscany through Anne, the wife 
of the Elector Palatine and the sister of Gian Gastone, 
who was the heir and had no children. But Philip 
v., when his first wife, the daughter of Victor Ama- 
deus II. died, had married Elizabeth Farnese, heiress 
of the Duke of Parma and Piacenza ; and through her» 



138 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

who was also descended from Cosimo III., he suc- 
ceeded to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. 

In defiance of the Treaty of Utrecht, PhiHp V., 
under the influence of his minister, Alberoni, took 
away Sardinia from Austria and was bargaining for 
the new Kingdom of Sicily, which the Duke of 
Savoy held with his troops. A quadruple alliance was 
accordingly formed between England, France, the 
United Provinces and Charles of Austria to enforce 
the Treaty of Utrecht; and because Victor Amadeus 
IL, Duke of Savoy, was suspected of being on the side 
of Spain, he was obliged by the allied powers to yield 
the Kingdom of Sicily to Emperor Charles VI., re- 
ceiving in return the Kingdom of Sardinia. Charles 
VI. now became King of the Two Sicilies, while Sar- 
dinia, which was to include Savoy, Piedmont and the 
island of Sardinia, was the cradle of the future sov- 
ereigns of united Italy. 

Victor Amadeus II.^s misfortune in having to ex- 
change the fruitful land of Sicily for the unproductive 
Island of Sardinia marks an important epoch in 
Italian history; for had he still kept Sicily, he and his 
heirs would in all probability have become so em- 
broiled in the succeeding Spanish and Austrian quar- 
rels that their independent growth would have been 
stunted and their final great service to Italy rendered 
impossible. 

In 1730 Victor Amadeus II., in order to contract a 
morganatic marriage with the Countess of San Sebas- 
tiano, gave up the crown to his son, Charles Emanuel 
III. The close of his life was saddened by this step; 
for within a year after his abdication this second wife 
became weary of their obscure and monotonous exist- 
ence in the fortress of Chambery, and influenced him 



Rise of the House of Savoy 139 

to try to reclaim his possessions and dignities; and 
accordingly they set out for Turin. Charles Emanuel 
III. reached the capital before his father and upset 
these plans; but Victor Amadeus II. kept instigating 
new plots, until his son finally had him put in prison 
in the Castle of Rivoli, where he remained until his 
death in 1732. 

In 1738 the Treaty of Vienna was made between 
Louis XV. of France, Philip V. of Spain and Charles 
Emanuel III., King of Sardinia, for the purpose of 
driving the Austrians out of Italy and placing Don 
Carlos, son of Philip V., on the throne of the Two 
Sicilies and at the same time securing Milan to Charles 
Emanuel. At the close, however, France and Spain 
ignored their agreement with the King of Sardinia, 
leaving Milan and Mantua to Austria, while Spain 
received Naples and Sicily. Don Carlos, now being 
acknowledged King of the Two Sicilies, gave up his 
claim to Tuscany and Parma, and Francis of Lor- 
raine, who had married Maria Theresa, daughter of 
Charles VI., received the Grand Duchy, Gian Gas- 
tone, the Medici heir, having just died. Stanislaus 
Leszcynski, the father-in-law of Louis XV., who had 
long been struggling in vain to obtain the throne of 
Poland, received Lorraine from the Emperor. 

By this compromise, what was called the War of 
Polish Succession was also brought to a close, and at 
the same time the power of Spain was re-established 
in southern Italy. Charles Emanuel III. was ap- 
peased by receiving, as an extension to his frontier, 
Novara and Tortona. In the meantime Don Carlos 
had become King of Spain by the death of Ferdinand 
VI., and the latter's son Ferdinand became King of 
Naples. Thus one power after another kept acquir- 



140 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

ing and ceding back the different parts of Italy, until 
the death of Charles VI. of Austria, which resulted in 
1740 in the War of the Austrian Succession. 

France, Spain and Naples, all Bourbons, now 
joined with Prussia, Bavaria and the King of Sar- 
dinia to plunder Maria Theresa, the daughter of 
Charles VI., whom Frederick the Great was harass- 
ing on all sides. In 1742, however, the King of Sar- 
dinia broke away from his union with the Bourbons, 
into which he had entered only in a half-hearted way, 
and made an alliance with Maria Theresa on condi- 
tion of getting back Milan. The Genoese, who had 
kept up the same government which Andrea Doria 
had established in a semi-independence, were now 
much disturbed at the union, for fear Charles Emanuel 
III. would absorb their city, since he needed a way to 
the sea. At first in 1745 Charles Emanuel III. was 
defeated by the French and Spanish, and the victorious 
armies were allowed to pass through Genoa on their 
way to their prospective conquest of Milan ; but during 
the same year Maria Theresa's husband, Francis of 
Lorraine, was elected Emperor, and, a truce being tem- 
porarily made between Prussia and Austria, peace 
reigned in Europe. 

In 1746 the King of Sardinia and the Austrians 
defeated the French and Spaniards in a great battle 
under the walls of Piacenza, the city being given up ; 
and when they advanced and demanded to be admitted 
to Genoa, which was the key to the two Rivieras and 
to the Island of Corsica, the Genoese were obliged 
to open their gates; and the Austrian leaders per- 
fidiously treated the city as though it had really sur- 
rendered. But when the Austrians tried to force the 
bystanders with blows to help them get a cannon out 



Rise of the House of Savoy 141 

of the underground vaults, where it had fallen, men 
women and children formed a mob and with stones 
and other missiles obliged the Austrian troops to quit 
the city and retreat beyond the Apennines. Although 
Genoa's power continued in the hands of an oligarchy 
until Napoleon's time, the activity of her people and 
her importance as a seaport insured her commercial 
prosperity. 

The War of the Austrian Succession ended after 
seven years, in 1748, at the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. 
Austria retained Milan and Mantua, which had been 
absorbed into the Duchy of Milan; but Francis of 
Lorraine gave up Tuscany, which had become prac- 
tically an Austrian province. The republic of Genoa 
and the Duchy of Modena were given to France, 
as a Protectorate. Genoa was allowed possession of 
the two Rivieras, but was obliged to give up Corsica 
to Louis XV., who afterwards brought the island 
into subjection. Parma was surrendered to Don 
Philip, brother of the real Charles IIL of Spain. This 
small principality, together with Piacenza and Guas- 
tilla, had been taken from Austria by Spain in 1745 
and restored to her in 1746; and now they continued 
to belong to Spain until the Napoleonic era. 

For forty years after the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 
Italy was at peace and little happened worthy of 
notice. Whatever religion there was , had degenerated 
into superstition. Popular education was discour- 
aged and there was no progressive spirit among the 
people. Tuscany, however, under Francis L's son, 
afterwards Leopold IL, enjoyed exceptional independ- 
ence and prosperity. The latter did much to promote 
the welfare of the duchy by reforms in finance, by 
wise administration of criminal law, by the abolition 



142 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of the Inquisition, and a much needed restraint of the 
clergy. He also redeemed much land which wars and 
neglect by the people had allowed to degenerate into 
swamps and marshes, and restored the Maremma and 
the valley of the Arno and Paglia to something of their 
former fertility. His memory is still cherished with 
gratitude in Tuscany, and he is justly regarded as the 
most distinguished of the early liberal Italian rulers. 
Under his second son, Ferdinand, the excellent prince 
who succeeded him in 1790, Tuscany continued happy 
and prosperous until Napoleon's time. 

Charles Emanuel III. was alike a great general, a 
wary politician and an illustrious king. Although 
after the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle he engaged in no 
wars, he strengthened himself in his Alpine bounda- 
ries by a line of magnificent fortresses and kept up 
such an efficient military force that he was ready to 
take the field at any moment with an army of forty 
thousand men well disciplined in the modern science 
of war. Like the rest of the rulers of Italy, he en- 
tertained Frederick the Great's conception of the right 
of kings, and was a " mild despot " ; but at the same 
time he followed out his father's wise policy. There 
were twenty thousand priests and twelve thousand 
monks at that time in the province of Piedmont alone. 
Accordingly he felt it necessary to diminish the 
strength and wealth of the Church, lest it should over- 
shadow his own power; but, notwithstanding his dip- 
lomatic character, he was not sufficiently progressive 
to advance education. 

The court of Charles Emanuel was carried on with 
the same ceremony as Versailles. Over three hundred 
courtiers surrounded the king and the yearly expendi- 
ture was more than two million liras. In accordance 



Rise of the House of Savoy 143 

with the ideas of that age of absolutism, the sovereign 
demanded entire subservience from all the nobility, 
in even the most trifling personal matters. Turin, 
Charles Emanuel's capital, was then considered by 
the French " the most beautiful village in the world," 
and from that time it has kept its reputation for being 
one of the most stately cities of northern Italy. 

Victor Amadeus II. had said that " Italy was like an 
artichoke, which had to be eaten leaf by leaf." The 
Dukes of Savoy had first consumed Piedmont, and then 
Sardinia, and in this way established the Kingdom of 
Sardinia, the nest ^gg of the future United Kingdom 
of Italy. They then went on absorbing contiguous 
territory, until after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 
1748, when their frontier extended to Lake Maggiore 
and the River Ticino, and the Kingdom of Sardinia 
included nine thousand square miles. In its three 
provinces there were three million inhabitants, with a 
revenue of fourteen million dollars. 

During the eighteenth century many moral and 
intellectual Popes had followed in succession; but in 
former times the States of the Church had been 
governed so badly and the expenses of the Holy See in 
keeping up their temporal as well as spiritual dignity 
had been so great, that the Popes were obliged to tax 
the necessities of life; accordingly the poor had been 
kept down and were always in destitution. Thus, much 
time was required to remedy the defects of institutions 
which had debarred all intellectual progress and had 
kept the people in ignorance. The enlightenment which 
now prevailed in all the European nations had also 
threatened to undermine Papal power to such an ex- 
tent that the policy of the Popes had necessarily 
become that of throwing their influence on the side of 



144 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the most powerful, while appearing to be neutral. In 
1769, however, Clement XIV. had the courage to sup- 
press the Order of Jesuits, who by their dark dealings 
had gained the odium of Western Europe. 

Among other reforms in the Papal States, Pope 
Pius VI. tried to restore the Campagna, which had 
depreciated into an unhealthy marsh, imperiling the 
lives of the inhabitants for centuries. At the time of 
the accession of Pius VI., in 1775, the population of 
the Papal States was two million five hundred thou- 
sand, and their army numbered five thousand. This 
territory covered an area of seventeen thousand square 
miles, with a revenue of nine million dollars. It ex- 
tended as far south as the Kingdom of Naples and as 
far north as the Po, while it was bounded on the west 
by the Mediterranean and on the east by Tuscany 
and Modena. The remarkable visit of Pius VI. to the 
Court of Vienna to interview Emperor Joseph II. in 
order to arrest his reforms is a memorable event in 
history. Although he was received with due respect, 
he accomplished nothing. 

Charles VII. of the Two Sicilies, afterwards Charles 
III. of Spain, Don Carlos as he was called, had done 
a great deal for the institutions of Naples. He 
adorned it most tastefully and brought from Parma, 
which he also held, many artistic treasures of the 
Farnese family. Some of these are to be seen to-day 
in the Neapolitan Museum, together with others taken 
from the Farnese Palace in Rome, the " Farnese 
Flora " and the " Hercules " being among the number. 
The *' Farnese Bull," also seen in Naples, a Greek 
work of art from the Baths of Caracalla, is one of 
the finest sculptures in the world. 

When Don Carlos succeeded to the Spanish throne 



Rise of the House of Savoy 145 

as Charles III, he gave Naples to his third son, 
Ferdinand IV., a boy of nine years of age, thus making 
it a province of Spain. Charles III. is remembered 
with more pride by the Spanish than any other sove- 
reign after Philip 11. He finally established in Spain 
the Bourbon rule, which was kept up with few inter- 
ruptions until 1861. The three Bourbon monarchs, 
Philip v., Ferdinand VI. and Charles III., whose 
methods were the same as those of Richelieu and 
Mazarin, raised Spain from the lethargy which had 
held it all through the seventeenth century. 

Victor Amadeus III. succeeded Charles Emanuel 
III., and in his reign the French Revolution burst 
upon Europe in a great tempest of war. At this time 
Ferdinand IV. of Naples had just married Maria 
Caroline of Austria, sister of Marie Antoinette; and 
the former exerted a baleful influence all through the 
Revolutionary troubles. The Duchess of Tuscany 
was also a sister of Marie Antoinette, and accordingly 
the Austrian rulers were in favor of the royal party 
in Naples. It was the same in the little Duchy of 
Modena, where the only daughter of Hercules III., 
Beatrice, had wed Ferdinand, one of the Archdukes 
of Austria, and Hercules himself had married an elder 
sister of Marie Antoinette. 

Lombardy was now thoroughly organized into a 
duchy, with Milan for its capital, and annexed to 
Austria; and Venice, after her innumerable struggles 
with Turks and Spaniards, had fallen into effeminacy. 
The city was still governed by a Council of all the 
noble citizens who were of age and was presided over 
by a Doge; and out of three million inhabitants only 
twenty-five hundred were entitled to the rights of 
citizenship. 



146 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

This brief review of the situation indicates the con- 
dition of Italy when the French Revolution roused 
the people all over Europe from despair into a wild 
frenzy. It shows the subjection of the Two Sicilies 
and Parma to Spanish rule, and how the Duchies of 
Lombardy, Modena and Piacenza were subject to 
Austria; also that the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was 
Austrian, and that Venice and Genoa were just sup- 
porting a semi-independent existence, the latter having 
given up Corsica to France. The States of the 
Church were still occupied in trying to aggrandize, 
and the little republic of Lucca now belonged to 
Tuscany. This state of affairs shows us the Kingdom 
of Sardinia with the only really vigorous territory in 
all the Italian peninsula, except the little republic of 
San Marino, all the others but Genoa and Venice being 
under Austria or Spain. At that time not one Italian 
State was subject to France. 

Strangely enough, in the midst of all this confu- 
sion science and literature had somewhat revived 
during the century. Alessandro Volta, a native of 
Como, had discovered the theory of galvanism by con- 
tact, and in 1800 invented the voltaic pile, while the 
Piedmontese count, Alfieri, had brought out his first 
volumes glowing with patriotism. These, dwelling as 
they did on the idea of a new Italy, caused the people 
to reflect on their ancient glory and aroused an ab- 
horrence in them for tyrants and a hope of freedom. 



Napoleon in Italy 147 



CHAPTER XI 

THE ABSORPTION OF ITALY BY NAPOLEON. — FORMATION 
OF HIS REPUBLICS. — ENTHUSIASM OF ITALY FOR 
NAPOLEON^S INSTITUTIONS. — ITALY RESTORED IN 
NAPOLEON^'S ABSENCE IN EGYPT. — BATTLE OF MA- 
RENGO. — EXCAVATIONS OF ROMAN RUINS IN NAPO- 
LEON's TIME, 

1792—1812 A.D. 

AT the close of the eighteenth century the Bourbon 
.rule seemed about to end in Italy; but after the 
Revolution all the despotic governments in Europe 
were alarmed lest the example of the French in estab- 
lishing a written Constitution should be followed. 
Therefore they united to put down constitutional liberty 
and once more restore the Bourbon family to power. 

Soon after 1792 the French invaded Savoy ; but for 
nearly four years after, the turmoil at home absorbed 
their entire attention, the First Coalition, consisting 
of all the despotisms of Europe, having in the mean- 
time been formed. In 1795 the new French govern- 
ment sent an army across the Alps and the masses of 
the Italian people, hoping thereby to drive out the 
Austrians, welcomed it heartily. Savoy, glad to avail 
herself of the chance to escape from the Kingdom of 
Sardinia, threw herself upon the French, who rejoic- 
ing said : " The Alps bid France welcome Savoy." 
Piedmont, however, was forced by the Austrians to 
assist in levying forty thousand troops to help make 



148 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

up one of the armies of the First CoaHtion, which was 
either to attack the invaders or to enter France when 
the Prussians on the Rhine should have drawn away 
the French army in that direction. 

In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte, the Corsican, was 
made commander of the French troops. He was then 
twenty-five years of age, slender in form and almost 
as deHcate as a girl in appearance. The condition of 
Italy furnished an unbounded field for ambition, and 
the manner in which Napoleon was received by the 
restless people, longing for freedom, was no doubt the 
keynote of his phenomenal success and unprecedent- 
edly great career. 

The small force of forty thousand men with which 
he was furnished were badly equipped soldiers of the 
Revolution, more like the mercenary bands of the 
Middle Ages than a regular army. They were half 
starved and freezing and lived on half rations taken 
from the mouths of the peasants already impoverished 
by constant warfare. The officers received only a 
dollar and a half a day and were obliged to go on 
foot, since the cavalry horses had succumbed to the 
rigors of the climate. 

This meager force Napoleon posted along the ridges 
of the Mont Cenis and Little St. Bernard in the face 
of the Austrian troops awaiting his advance in the 
rich plains of Italy. 

Napoleon was at first received with suspicion by his 
soldiers and with open hostility by the generals in 
command, who disliked being placed under an inex- 
perienced youth. By his wonderful genius, however, 
he overcame all difficulties and soon gained the love 
of those who had tried to circumvent him, this love 
soon growing into something like idolatry. Napoleon 



Napoleon in Italy 



149 



now began to develop a remarkable series of military 
tactics, which transformed his meager forces into an 
army intoxicated with victory. 

After a thorough study of the country, and with 




ITAtY 

IN THE TIME OP 

NAPOLEON 

SCilLK-OF MtLEa 



TURKISH 
D M IN 10 N,S 



Longltuae East 12 from Greenwich 



matured plans, Napoleon on the 12th of April, 1796, 
commenced that first campaign, which continues to 
excite the admiration of the world. He addressed his 



ISO Italy: Her People and Their Story 

men with great eloquence, praising them for the 
courage and patience which they had exhibited on the 
barren ledges, at the same time reminding them that 
they had not yet been tried in regular army service. 
He told them that he was about to lead them into 
luxurious plains where, if they would press heroically 
on, they would find rich provinces, great cities and 
glory awaiting them. 

From the time of the first encounter the genius of 
the leader and the valor of the soldiers were alike 
evident. By the ist of May the Austrians were driven 
out of the kingdom and the King of Sardinia, Victor 
Amadeus III., was forced to make terms with 
Napoleon, renouncing Nice and Savoy as well as Tor- 
tona and Alessandria on the Italian side, and giving 
up several fortresses of Piedmont. He was also 
obliged to grant Napoleon passage through his do- 
mains. 

After the Austrians were driven out they retreated 
into Lombardy and, on the 9th of May, the Battle of 
Lodi was fought, bringing the whole of Lombardy 
under Napoleon's sway. This fulfilled a promise made 
to his men that in a month's time the enemy should 
be at their feet. He entered Milan the 15th of May, 
1796, at the location of the present Triumphal Arch, 
built afterwards in 1804 ^s the terminus of the Sim- 
plon route. It is almost the duplicate of the Arch of 
Triumph in Paris, begun two years later, only that it 
is smaller. 

Napoleon now issued a proclamation telling his 
soldiers that the standard of the French republic 
waved over the whole of Lombardy, and that the 
Dukes of Parma and Modena only existed through his 
courtesy. He said : " To you will belong the glory 



Napoleon in Italy 151 

of replacing the statues of heroes who have rendered 
Rome immortal and of rousing the Romans who have 
become enslaved." And indeed it was a fact that the 
Duke of Parma had already compromised by paying 
a heavy indemnity, and giving up twenty of the best 
works of art; while the Duke of Modena had de- 
serted his subjects, taking his art treasures to Venice 
with him. The Austrians at Mantua had at the same 
time withdrawn to the Tyrol, passing through Venice 
on the way. 

These movements inspired the Italian republicans 
with great enthusiasm, and they hailed Napoleon as the 
regenerator of Italy. The King of Naples solicited an 
armistice, and withdrew from the First Coalition ; and 
Napoleon was soon able to bring the Pope to sue for 
peace, at the same time occupying with his army 
Bologna, Ferrara and Ravenna, territory belonging to 
His Holiness. Reggio and Modena revolted from the 
Italian governors placed over them and were formed 
into a provincial government, which, united to Bologna 
and Ferrara, made up Napoleon's first Italian State, 
called the Cispadane republic, with Bologna for its 
capital; and in less than a month all the powers in 
central Italy in favor of Austria were compelled to 
abandon their allegiance. 

The Austrians, notwithstanding this, were gather- 
ing an overwhelming army in the north to pour down 
upon Napoleon's forces; and, although weakened by 
service, they were threatening, with the aid of English 
financial support, to make the situation very critical 
for Napoleon. The Battles of Areola and Rivoli, 
however, fought in 1796, resulted in a crushing defeat 
for the Austrians, who retired to Verona. 

When Napoleon entered Modena the people eagerly 



152 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

demanded his aid in setting up republican institutions, 
while the populace in the Papal States, which he had 
already taken, received him with overwhelming effu- 
sion. The Pope was alarmed, since he saw that 
Napoleon was doing everything to create a sentiment 
in favor of freedom and to impress the people with the 
idea that his mission was not to destroy, but to dissem- 
inate liberty and enlightenment. 

Napoleon proceeded to annihilate the British fleet 
then holding Leghorn. This was a seaport which the 
Medici had built up in the sixteenth century by erect- 
ing warehouses, building fortified harbors, and inviting 
commercial people to settle there. The Grand Duke 
of Tuscany sided with France, and was now so de- 
lighted to see the English driven off, and so desirous 
of conciliating the rising great general, that he enter- 
tained Napoleon magnificently. It was of no use, how- 
ever, for he, with the others, finally had to submit to 
the conqueror and go. 

After successive victories Napoleon repulsed the 
Archduke Charles, brother of Francis II., at Taglia- 
mento, and the Austrians were compelled to treat at 
Loeben on the i8th of April, 1797. Napoleon was in- 
censed against Verona on account of an insurrection 
known as the Pasqua Veronese, in which the French 
garrison had been massacred, and also because the 
Veronese had sheltered Louis XVIII. The Venetians 
also had offended him by offering an asylum to the 
Austrians, and Napoleon made all this a pretext for 
extinguishing the Venetian republic. Accordingly 
on the I2th of May, 1797, with the permission of the 
Austrians, who had already surrendered, he appeared 
before the city of Venice. Their Doge, Luigi Manini, 
being paralyzed with fear, the Grand Council sur- 



Napoleon in Italy 153 

rendered their authority without resistance and the 
oligarchy fell. Her galleys were destroyed, and the 
" Golden Book," in which were enrolled the names of 
all the Doges, was burned, while " the bronze horses 
which Enrico Dandolo had brought from Constanti- 
nople and Luciano Doria had sworn he would bridle," 
were carried off to Paris. 

During a general revolt in Genoa, which took place 
in May, 1797, the French frigate was captured and 
many families who were loyal to the French were sent 
into exile. Napoleon came to their rescue, however, 
and put down the revolt. The Genoese government 
then had to pay an indemnity for the frigate destroyed 
and to recall the banished French families. A re- 
publican Constitution was set up, modeled after the 
French republic, and later was called the Ligurian 
republic. The Anconian republic was soon instituted 
in the same manner. 

At the peace of Campo-Formio, in October, 1797, 
hostilities between Austria and France were sus- 
pended. Lombardy, Parma, Modena, the Papal States 
of Bologna, Ferrara and Romagna, were given up, 
and the Venetian territory to the Adige boundary was 
inaugurated into the Cisalpine republic, in which 
the Cispadine republic was absorbed. Napoleon's 
other republics in central Italy were added the year 
after. To pacify the Austrians for the territory they 
had surrendered, the Venetian cities were again given 
over to them, the Austrian government being set up 
on the Adriatic the next year. Notwithstanding that 
this dishonorable treatment of Venice, together with 
similar proceedings in other parts of Italy, contra- 
dicted the promises held out by Napoleon, the terms 
which the Austrians were obliged to make at Campo 



154 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Formio modified the condition of the Italian States 
ever after; since from the Cisalpine republic flatter- 
ing ideas of liberty spread in every direction, and 
from the reforms established by Napoleon's free in- 
stitutions the principle of equal rights was dissemi- 
nated. 

The capital of the Cisalpine republic was Milan, 
and its Legislature consisted of a Senate and House 
of Representatives, every respectable and self-sup- 
porting man at the age of twenty-one being entitled 
to the right of citizenship. 

On leaving Italy in 1798, before his Egyptian cam- 
paign. Napoleon exhorted the people to hold fast the 
liberty he had worked out and to prove themselves 
deserving of the good fortune awaiting them. 

Napoleon's success so aroused the enthusiasm of the 
Italian patriots that they gladly supported the troops 
with which France had armed their fortresses; and 
thus the new republic was strengthened against the 
powerful monarchies of Europe, which were anxious 
lest little by little the whole country should be revolu- 
tionized. England was so alarmed because her lower 
classes sympathised with Napoleon's republican 
movement, that she resolved to do her utmost to anni- 
hilate the French republics and restore the Bourbon 
governments ; and even in Italy the more conservative 
saw that it was Napoleon's aim to establish, not Italian, 
but French republics in the peninsula, and recognized 
that the taxes for his glorious victories must be paid 
by them. 

Pius VI., thinking that the Austrians were sure to 
conquer in the end, was recreant to his pledges given 
to Napoleon; accordingly, during 1797, the latter en- 
tered the Papal States and, besides making the Pope 



Napoleon in Italy 155 

pay a large sum of money, he compelled him to give 
up the cities of Avignon and Vennais, in addition to 
the towns already surrendered. Revolutions encour- 
aged by the French also arose, and the Romans to 
retaliate attacked the French embassy. After this, on 
the 27th of November, 1798, Napoleon entered the 
Holy City and proclaimed the Tiberine republic, 
announcing that the temporal power of the Pope had 
fallen. Pope Pius VI. was seized, the Vatican plun- 
dered and its art treasures sent to Paris. The Pope 
was exiled to France, where he died at Valence in 
1799. 

Not long after this Ferdinand of Naples, excited 
by the idea of Nelson's victories over Napoleon's 
forces in Egypt, thought he was strong enough to 
defy France and re-establish the Pope, especially as 
Napoleon himself had left for Egypt in the May of 
1798. Accordingly, during November Ferdinand oc- 
cupied Rome with an army of sixty thousand; but 
the French soon returned and, having routed the Nea- 
politans in several battles, they drove them back to 
their kingdom. King Ferdinand took refuge with 
Lord Nelson's fleet, anchored in the harbor of Naples, 
and afterwards retired to Sicily. The republicans 
now admitted the French into Naples, where, in 1799, 
the Parthenopean republic was set up. 

The last sovereign in Italy to yield his kingdom to 
Napoleon was Charles Emanuel IV., who had suc- 
ceeded Victor Amadeus III.; but the French had 
gradually worked their way into Piedmont, and, having 
taken possession in 1798, they obliged Charles Emanuel 
IV. to give up his throne and withdraw to the island 
of Sardinia, since, although professing friendship for 
the French, he was suspected of treachery; and they 



156 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

did not dare to leave the key to the Alps in the hands 
of a recognized hostile power. In 1802 this unfortu- 
nate king entered a Jesuit monastery, where he re- 
mained until his death. His son, Victor Emanuel I., 
succeeded him that year as ruler of the island of Sar- 
dinia. Piedmont was at the same time annexed to 
France, and, together with all the other continental 
possessions of the Kingdom of Sardinia, belonged to 
that nation for twelve years. 

Soon after this the Grand Duke of Tuscany was 
forced to flee to Austria, and thus the whole of the 
Italian peninsula, except the Duchy of Parma, Pia- 
cenza, Venice and the little republic of San Marino, 
was in the power of the French. 

When Napoleon sailed for Egypt, England, Austria, 
Russia, Turkey and Naples engaged in a Second 
Coalition ; and early in 1799 General Suwaroflf, with a 
strong army of Russians and Austrians, entered Lom- 
bardy. The French were obliged to retire to Genoa, 
where they were blockaded by an English fleet; and 
after a succession of great victories on the part of the 
allies the French republics on the peninsula were 
overthrown. The Bourbons in Naples, encouraged by 
this, were guilty of great cruelties against those who 
tried to defend themselves. Lord Nelson returned 
with the King and Queen of Naples, and, in spite of 
their capitulation, he had the French chained in pairs 
in the dungeon of his warships. Many of the peo- 
ple, worn out by persecution, voluntarily exiled them- 
selves in France, and carried the idea of liberty with 
them, among them being Botta, the historian. The 
more humane king, shocked at such barbarities, re- 
turned to Sicily, leaving his wife to administer affairs, 
in company with Lady Hamilton, who had com- 



Napoleon in Italy 157 

plete control over her. Queen Caroline is said to 
have been brought to encourage these outrages against 
those who sympathized with the French on account 
of the late execution of her sister Marie Antoinette. 
Nelson has been greatly criticised on account of his 
harsh conduct at that time. 

The Battles of Verona, Novi and Trebbia well-nigh 
exterminated the French troops in Italy, the few that 
remained finding hiding-places in the Alps. Some of 
the old governments in Italy were restored, and a 
new Pope, Pius VIL, was appointed and installed in 
Rome; and, besides this, the other powers were 
threatening to invade France itself. The allied armies 
were already assembling on the frontier of the Rhine, 
while everywhere at sea the French had been worsted 
by the English; and even in France itself the people 
were trying to upset the government. 

Napoleon, however, returned from Egypt on the 
9th of October, and on the 9th of November, 1799 
(i8th Brumaire), proceeded to overthrow the Direc- 
tory. On the 27th of the same month he made him- 
self First Consul. England and Austria, however, re- 
fused to make terms unless France would agree to 
establish the Bourbon dynasty. After the allied 
armies on the Rhine were forced to retire. Napoleon, 
having brought an army of sixty-five thousand men 
together at Dijon, commenced new operations to re- 
cover Italy. The passage over the Great St. Bernard, 
was accomplished between the i6th and 20th of May, 
1800, with extreme difficulty, each man having to lead 
his horse by the bridle on the brink of the precipices; 
but when they arrived at the summit completely ex- 
hausted, the monks at the hospice provided the soldiers 
with refreshment. 



158 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

On the 14th of June, 1800, Napoleon gained lasting 
renown by his victory over the Austrians on the 
bloody field of Marengo. It is said that he would have 
been defeated except for General Desaix, who, while 
out reconnoitering at the time, heard the fighting and 
thought the battle lost. He exclaimed, however: " It 
is only three o'clock, and there is time to win another." 
He then joined Napoleon, and, though he himself was 
slain, the result was a splendid victory. This battle 
drove the Austrians out of Italy; but the allied 
powers, even as early as this, had made up their 
minds that there could be no peace without Napoleon's 
overthrow. 

When Murat, with twenty-eight thousand men, was 
sent to quell the insurrection raised by Ferdinand 
IV. of Naples, Queen Caroline went to St. Peters- 
burg to implore the intercession of the Czar. She 
succeeded so far that France, hoping to gain the 
alliance of Russia, permitted the Bourbons to remain 
in Naples on condition that they should agree to the 
terms of the Continental Blockade. 

In 1801 the treaty of Campo-Formio was con- 
firmed by the Treaty of Luneville; and the Cisalpine 
republic was re-established. Later Napoleon changed 
the Constitution somewhat, and made himself president 
of what was now called the Italian republic, a vice- 
president also being appointed. It was intended, how- 
ever, to leave it for the most part free to govern itself. 
Piedmont and the Duchy of Parma, including Pia- 
cenza, were also attached to France. In the May of 
1801 Napoleon made a monarchy of the Grand Duchy 
of Tuscany, and called it the Kingdom of Etruria. 
In order to pacify the Spanish Bourbons and to attach 
them to France, this was given to the Duke of Parma, 



Napoleon in Italy 159 

whom they had just deprived of his duchy, and who 
had married the daughter of Charles IV. of Spain. 

It was hoped when Napoleon appeared in 1804 as 
Emperor of France that the monarchs of Europe 
might be appeased, since the republican form of 
government had been so distasteful to them. But 
England, far from being taken in by this device, would 
not consent to grant peace on Napoleon's terms. 

The next year Napoleon changed the Cisalpine or 
Italian republic into a monarchy, and the Ligurian 
republic was amalgamated with it. He then crossed 
the Alps, and, being joined by Pope Pius VII., on 
the 26th of May, 1805, in the Cathedral of Monza 
near Milan, took the Crown of Lombardy and placed 
it upon his own brow, saying : " It is from God ; a curse 
on him who touches it." Napoleon was accompanied 
by Josephine, from his love for whom no adulation of 
beautiful women was ever able to wean him. He ap- 
pointed as viceroy of Italy, Josephine's son, Eugene 
Beauharnais, who became so beloved by his subjects 
that even down to the present generation he is referred 
to with affection. Napoleon immediately abolished 
the Legislative Assembly, and Italy became a monarchy 
with the same government as France; for, though he 
planned to separate France and Italy in the future, 
he thought it necessary that at first they should remain 
in the same kingdom in order to accustom the Italian 
States, which had so long been disunited, to live under 
common laws; therefore he said he would begin by 
making them French. 

That same year Europe made a Third Coalition, and 
a large Austrian army under Archduke Charles took 
flie field in Italy. Then Napoleon marched upon 
Vienna, and the celebrated Battle of Austerlitz was 



i6o Italy: Her People and Their Story 

fought, December 2, 1805. This overwhelming de- 
feat forced the Austrians to cede the whole of Venetia 
to Bonaparte, at the Treaty of Presburg on the 26th 
of December. The latter joined it to his Italian king- 
dom, and Francis II, was forced not only to lay down 
the scepter of the German-Roman Empire, but obliged 
to acknowledge Napoleon's sway. 

Just after Austerlitz, Napoleon heard that the Bour- 
bons had again admitted the British into the harbor of 
Naples, and were assailing the French in the rear. He 
then made a proclamation announcing the punishment 
of that kingdom, and told the army that, though after 
Lodi and the other battles he had suspected Naples 
of treason, he had shown her particular favor out of 
consideration for Russia, and had respected her nomi- 
nal neutrality; and after the Battle of Marengo he 
had again pardoned the king and had dealt more than 
generously with an enemy who had done everything to 
destroy himself; but he now pronounced the dynasty 
of Naples at an end. The Bourbon family at once 
took refuge in Sicily; and in March, 1806, Napoleon 
had his brother Joseph crowned King of Naples. 
During the short time that Joseph reigned he made 
many permanent civil and military improvements, 
opening new roads, draining marshes and causing the 
peasants to work for good pay. In 1808 Napoleon 
made Joseph King of Spain, and appointed Murat, 
his brother-in-law, King of Naples in Joseph's stead. 
The people had been very fond of Joseph, but they 
became equally attached to Murat. Capri, having at 
that time been taken from Sir Hudson Low, was 
annexed to Naples. 

The provinces of Basilicata, Calabria and the 
Abruzzi were at this time overrun with brigands, and a 



Napoleon in Italy i6i 

large force of these, encouraged by the priesthood and 
the Bourbons, joined an insurrection which Queen 
Caroline had incited against the French. Great cruel- 
ties were practiced on both the French and the English 
side in a desultory warfare, which continued until 
1811. 

Pius VII. wished to have the temporal power of the 
Pope restored; and, on Napoleon refusing, His Holi- 
ness declined to enter into any agreement with France. 
Accordingly Napoleon, since he would have no hostile 
power under him, proceeded to annex and occupy the 
Papal States. 

After the great Battle of Wagram Napoleon heard 
that the Pope had hurled a Bull of Excommunication 
against him; and Murat, at the end of the year 1809, 
seized the pontiff and had him imprisoned in the 
Palace of Fontainebleau, where he remained until the 
downfall of Napoleon in 1814. The King of Etruria, 
formerly Duke of Parma, with his son and his mother, 
the regent, were forced to find a temporary asylum in 
Spain; and during the same year Bonaparte again 
made Tuscany a Grand Duchy and appointed his sister 
EHza, whom he had already made Duchess of Lucca 
and Princess of Piombino, Grand Duchess. By thus 
cutting up Italy for the maintenance of his family, 
Napoleon kept it subservient to himself, and at the 
same time built up a new French aristocracy, which 
made his court surpass in brilliancy the one sacrificed 
in the Revolution. His governments were carried on 
according to the demands of justice; and besides re- 
vising the barbarous laws he made new ones so perfect 
that they still continue to be used in jurisprudence. 

It was at this era that the idea of a United Italy was 
first infused into the hearts of the people, this harmo- 



1 62 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

nious feeling being greatly developed by the fact " that 
the natives of all parts of Italy fought side by side in 
the armies of Napoleon." The historian Balbo says: 
'' Of all the periods of servitude this was the most 
glorious, and from this time the name of Italy was 
pronounced with increasing love and honor." 

Napoleon afterwards at St. Helena wrote out a 
paper showing that he had planned to unite the 
Venetians, the Milanese, Piedmontese, Genoese, Tus- 
cans and all the other Italian States into one great 
nation, with Alpine boundaries and the Adriatic, the 
Ionian and Mediterranean seas for protection, and to 
leave it all as a " trophy of his glory." He had in- 
tended in this way to shut out Austria and to guard the 
route to the Orient. Rome was to be the capital of 
this glorious country which Petrarch referred to as *' a 
beautiful land divided by the Apennines, surrounded 
by the sea and the Alps." Napoleon thought that 
it would take thirty years to complete this project; 
and most people believe that if he had spent his entire 
energies in consolidating Italy he would never have 
lost the prestige gained, for the union which he con- 
ceived and partly executed was the harbinger of what 
Italy became a little more than a half century later, 
after many and bitter struggles. 

Under Napoleon's regime improvements were vast. 
It was he who established the army organization, such 
as has come down to the present day. He constructed 
new roads and engineered important systems of canals, 
besides beautifying cities with graceful memorial 
arches, and encouraging the population of the country 
districts to engage in agricultural pursuits. 

Napoleon also commenced the renovation of Rome. 
The ruins of eighteen hundred years in the Forum and 






Authors. 




Tasso. 


Dante. 


Petrarch. 


Boccaccio, 




(VAniDfiizlo, 



Napoleon in Italy 163 

on the Palatine were soon excavated, and the imposing 
columns of the temples and wonderful old palaces 
were restored in their original grace and stateliness. 
In the Colosseum the iron flood-gates which had ad- 
mitted water for naval displays and the doors of the 
dens of the wild beasts leading into the amphitheater 
were discovered; and even the bronze rings to which 
the Christian martyrs used to be chained were again 
visible ; while the marvelous auditorium, with some of 
the seats still numbered, all together having the ca- 
pacity of accommodating eighteen thousand specta- 
tors, was thrown open. After clearing away rubbish 
eighteen feet deep in the center of the Forum, earlier 
the location of rude villages, a beautiful pavement, 
thought to be the old Sacra Via, was disclosed with 
the marks of the chariots which had served in the 
old Roman triumphs. The little Temple of Vesta was 
also exhumed, and excavations were made in the Baths 
of Titus, where the famous Laocoon was discov- 
ered. Napoleon had also begun to turn aside the 
course of the Tiber, revealing the wonderful treasures 
of art thrown in there at the time of the Gothic in- 
vasion. Since Napoleon had intended to make the 
Quirinal palace his home, it was beautified and re- 
fashioned into something of the comfort and magnifi- 
cence which characterizes it to-day. The war horses 
attached to the fountain in front of this palace are 
among the few things which had never been buried. 
In spite of this progressive spirit, Italy was for the 
time being brought into great straits, since Napoleon 
divided and sub-divided, set up and demolished, ac- 
cording to his will. 

The people of Sicily, jealous of being deprived of 
the new institutions and resources developing in other 



164 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

parts of Italy, made a pressure upon King Ferdinand 
IV. for the granting of a constitution after the Eng- 
lish model, and he was forced to abdicate in favor of 
his son Francis, as Vicar-General, January 16, 1812. 
Queen Caroline resisted English protection, and, being 
unpopular on account of the extravagance and luxury 
of her court, and on account of her cruelty, the Eng- 
lish banished her and sent her back to Vienna, where 
she died in September, 1814. 

Naples continued an independent kingdom, divided, 
like all the nations, into the Liberals and a despotic 
party. The Kingdom of Sardinia, under the rule of 
Victor Emanuel L, was sustained by the English fleet 
in spite of the restlessness of the people, who were 
always comparing their condition unfavorably with 
other parts of Italy. The French provinces of Italy 
were united under Louis Bonaparte, and afterwards 
given to Count Borghese, the husband of Napoleon's 
sister, the beautiful Pauline Bonaparte, whose incom- 
parably fine reclining statue is still seen in their late 
home, the Borghese Villa. This magnificent park, in- 
cluding the galleries with gardens adjoining, has been 
lately purchased by the Italian government and will 
be kept as a museum of the State. 

Napoleon had raised Lombardy from the lowest con- 
dition of national life to prominence in all the environ- 
ments which tend to prosperity. Among the radical 
changes, the famous road over the Simplon connecting 
Lombardy and Switzerland was constructed, the ex- 
pense of one million two hundred thousand dollars 
being borne by France and Italy unitedly. To this day 
the Lombard people look back upon Napoleon's reign 
as among the '' brightest of Italian days '' ; for he had 
taken care to confer all the offices of State of any con- 



Napoleon in Italy 165 

sequence upon native Italians, and not only kept the 
people united, but pacified the principal citizens all 
over Italy. In view of his distinguished services, after 
his banishment to Elba, he was invited by the authori- 
ties at Turin to accept the leadership of the govern- 
ment, in view of receiving the crown of united Italy. 



1 66 Italy: Her People and Their Story 



CHAPTER XII 

THE FALL OF NAPOLEOn's ITALIAN MONARCHY. — AUS- 
TRIA AGAIN IN THE ASCENDANCY. — ^ADVANCED IDEAS 

OF THE PEOPLE. OLD CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENTS 

RESTORED. — THE CARBONARI. — ALL ITALY AROUSED. — 

REVOLUTIONS OF 182I, 183O, AND 1848. MAZZINI^ 

CAVOUR AND GARIBALDI. 

1812—1848 A.D. 

THE destruction of Napoleon commenced when he 
planned his disastrous campaign of 1812; for this 
mighty undertaking resulted in the annihilation of his 
large army in the snowfields of Russia. His selfish- 
ness, as shown in sacrificing so many thousand lives 
for his own aggrandizement, became at this time more 
and more apparent ; and the people, weary of his des- 
potism, forgot his wonderful achievements and soon 
ignored the regenerating influences he had set in 
motion. Thus, when all the nations of Europe united 
against him, the great demi-god fell. 

When the crisis came, Murat, hoping not to be re- 
moved, entered into negotiations with Austria. He 
left Naples with a large army, bound for upper Italy, 
without disclosing his disloyalty to viceroy Eugene. 
The latter, desiring to keep his throne, after he had 
learned of Napoleon's complete downfall in France, 
and that the English had occupied Leghorn and 
Genoa, declared his willingness to submit to the rule 
of the allied powers. The Senate also was about to 
intercede in Eugene's behalf; but the people of Lorn- 



Italy Aroused 167 

bardy, in spite of their love for him personally, were so 
tired of French government that they broke into a 
mob, and Eugene was obliged to surrender the fortress 
of Mantua to the Austrians. Thus, when a few days 
later the Austrian army entered Milan, the French 
kingdom in Italy fell. 

In 1 81 5 the Allies, who had entered Paris on May 
31, 1 8 14, met in a Congress at Vienna to arrange the 
ultimate status of the countries which Bonaparte had 
absorbed and now lost. Austria received all the main- 
land of Venice and the whole of Lombardy to the 
Ticino on the west; and on the south as far as the 
Po, under the name of the Lombardo -Venetian king- 
dom. Victor Emanuel I. was given back Piedmont 
and Savoy, with the addition of the provinces of 
Genoa; and on the 20th of May, after an interim of 
sixteen years, he was received back to Turin with 
great joy by the people. He immediately commenced, 
fossil as he was, the same regime which had been 
abandoned nearly twenty years before, reinstating all 
the old officers in a body, without ascertaining how 
many of them had died during French rule, for he 
said that he " regarded the intervening epoch as a 
dream." 

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was given to Ferdi- 
nand, the brother of the Emperor of Austria, with a 
revenue of fourteen million, and the States of the 
Church, including Bologna, Ferrara, Forli and Ra- 
venna, consisting of a population of three million, and 
a standing army of sixteen thousand, were all restored 
to the Pope, the sixteen departments being sometimes 
called the Northern Legations. Pope Pius VII., hav- 
ing been liberated, returned to Rome. He proceeded 
to reorganize the order of the Jesuits, and re-estab- 



1 68 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

lished the Inquisition; but the Jesuits, unadapted to 
the newly developed emergencies, soon lost ground. 

The Duchy of Parma, including Piacenza, was, with 
Guastilla, assigned by the allies to Marie Louise, wife 




of Napoleon, and daughter of the Emperor of Austria, 
who was not allowed to share Napoleon's exile. The 
Spanish Bourbons were given Lucca, but on Marie 



Italy Aroused 169 

Louise's death Parma was to be restored to them and 
they were then to relinquish Lucca to the Austrian 
Ferdinand IIL, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Francis IV., 
son of Beatrice d'Este, the daughter of the late Duke 
Hercules IIL, received the Duchy of Modena. 

There was one republic left, and that was the tiny 
principality of San Marino, surrounded by the Apen- 
nine mountains and the Papal States, which in early 
times served as a bulwark between the Montefeltro 
and the Malatesta. Through all the centuries it had 
" observed the storms which had desolated Italy at 
its feet," and ever since the time when it was first 
recognized, in 1631, no nation had been mean enough 
to usurp authority over it. During the reign of Philip 
V. of Spain, in the eighteenth century, Cardinal Albe- 
roni gained permission from Pope Clement XI I. to 
destroy this ancient government; but the latter was 
obliged, on account of opposition, to withdraw his 
consent and to confirm the privileges of the State. 

Although San Marino consists of only thirty-three 
square miles, with a population of about ten thousand, 
which would be considered in the United States hardly 
more than a small country district, it is entirely self- 
supporting, and is governed by two presiding officers 
elected every six months, one from the aristocracy and 
one from the people. San Marino was established in 
the fifth century as a hermitage by a stonemason named 
Marinus, and under him it grew into a community of 
seven thousand persons, its very insignificance prevent- 
ing it, during all these years, from being blotted out. 
Marinus afterwards was dubbed a saint, his bones hav- 
ing been restored to the town by Pepin the Short, the 
father of Charlemagne. 

The Bourbon Dynasty was restored in the Two 



170 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Sicilies^ under King Ferdinand I. in 1816. Ignoring 
his other titles, " Ferdinand IV. of Naples " and 
" Ferdinand III. of Sicily/' he reigned as Ferdinand 
I. of the United Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Murat 
had governed in Naples through the latter part of the 
Napoleonic era, and had not given up his crown dur- 
ing the time of Napoleon's banishment to Elba. The 
question of the Ferdinands and Francises in Sicily, 
the Two Sicilies and Naples, is especially confusing, 
princes with the same titles seeming to appear at 
intervals sometimes of centuries. This is on account 
of the intricacies in the separation and union of these 
kingdoms from earliest times, which often makes a 
prince of the same name governing Sicily appear to 
reign in Naples much later. 

Outside of Naples, Italy, as is seen, was left by the 
powers virtually a province of Austria, and governed 
for the most part by Austrian princes. 

The allies at Vienna had not yet brought their 
treaties and festivities to a close when they learned 
that Napoleon had escaped from Elba; but the Battle 
of Waterloo soon decided his fate. 

The people of Italy at this time assisted the allies 
in expelling the common enemy; but they were dis- 
appointed in the results, since Italy was only used as 
a puppet in the hands of the ambitious monarchs of 
Europe. The Holy Roman Empire that was founded 
by Augustus, re-dedicated by Charlemagne, and nomi- 
nally restored by Otto the Great, had been in reality 
for many years only the Empire of Austria, and had 
come to an abrupt close after Austerlitz by the en- 
forced abdication of Francis II. 

The peace of Italy was additionally disturbed by an 
attempt by Murat to be reinstated in his kingdom. 



Italy Aroused 171 

Austria had consented that he should continue King 
of Naples; but, distrusting her loyalty, and thinking 
that his friends, the Neapolitans, would join him in 
upholding Napoleon, Murat went over to him; and 
when the latter landed, he tried at the head of forty 
thousand men to overcome the Austrian force in 
northern Italy. He was driven back, however, and, 
abandoned by his troops ; he then fled to Naples, thence 
to France, and afterwards to Corsica. Having re- 
turned, he reached the coast of lower Calabria with 
thirty followers, but was seen and seized by some of 
Ferdinand's soldiers; and condemned by the king, 
being given only half an hour to prepare for death. 
During these valued moments he received absolution 
and wrote a pathetic letter to his family. This hap- 
pened on the very day on which Napoleon arrived in 
St. Helena. 

It was soon seen that methods of thought as well as 
manners and customs had been changed by Napoleon's 
invasion. In the reaction from fierce political excite- 
ment the people diverted their minds by games of 
chance and lotteries, this being the beginning of the 
gaming fever which has proved such a curse to Italy. 
Indeed, it has been said that the place which alcoholic 
intoxication usually occupies is replaced in southern 
Italy by the frenzy for gambling. Secret societies 
at this time also sprang up, formed among violent 
men for the purpose of getting rid of Austrian rule 
in Italy, and of setting up a democratic government; 
but it was soon proved that the deliverance of Italy 
had to be accomplished by efficient workers, men will- 
ing to bide their time. 

The Carbonari was the name of a secret society 
organized in the Kingdom of Naples during the first 



1/2 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

years of the nin-eteenth century, the influence of which 
increased on the restoration of the Bourbons, in whose 
ranks many of this fraternity were found. A plot 
to murder the Viceroy of Milan instigated by them 
failed; but on the 2d of July, 1820, encouraged by 
the success of an insurrection in Spain, the people 
of Avellino demanded a Constitution. The governor 
reluctantly joined the two lieutenants, Morelli and 
Silvati, who commanded one hundred and twenty- 
seven men, and went forth from Nola under the tri- 
colored (black, red and blue) banner of this society, 
with their watch cry of *' For God, King and Consti- 
tution.'' On the night of the 5th of July General 
Pepe, in charge of the garrison of Salerno, left Naples 
for the purpose of leading the revolutionists. King 
Ferdinand, leaving the government to his son Francis, 
with the title of Vicar, granted a Constitution under 
duress, and then fled to Leyback, where the Holy 
Alliance between Austria, Prussia and Russia was con- 
vened. The ministry which was now formed by the 
Liberals promised a Constitution like that set up by 
Napoleon. 

Palermo, which with the rest of Sicily, had enjoyed 
a Constitution in the Napoleonic period, received the 
news with great rejoicing and proceeded to expel the 
Bourbon troops, though all the rest of the Neapoli- 
tan kingdom still endorsed the old government. 

This excitement was the signal for an uprising in 
the Papal States. Piedmont also broke out into an 
insurrection, and the people tried to force the king 
to adopt a Constitution like that of Naples, hoping by 
their liberal policy to be able, as they did some years 
afterwards, to take the lead in Italian politics; but 
Victor Emanuel I., although he could not forget that 



Italy Aroused 173 

the Austrians had done nothing to keep his father, 
Charles Emanuel III., on the throne, was obliged to 
join the alliance at Leyback in the spring of 1821, and 
could not yield to their demands. Therefore when the 
citadel fell into the hands of the Constitutionalists, he 
abdicated in favor of his brother, Charles Felix. In 
the absence of the latter, Charles Albert, Prince of 
Carignano, was made regent ; and the same day he was 
inveigled into adopting the Constitution. Charles 
Albert was descended in another line from Thomas 
Francis, a brother of Victor Amadeus I., both of these 
princes being sons of the illustrious Charles Emanuel 
the Great. 

Encouraged by the sympathy of the British govern- 
ment, Austria, Russia and Prussia sent their armies 
to put an end to this republican movement. The 
new Constitutions were destroyed and the patriots 
executed and exiled. Some managed to escape, how- 
ever, and led a miserable existence in foreign coun- 
tries. Ferdinand I. was reinstated on his throne, and 
the Neapolitans were forced to bear the expense of 
supporting the immense Austrian army which was left 
in occupation. 

The Austrians now took possession of all the for- 
tresses and entered Turin in triumph. Charles Felix, 
who had never supported the liberal measures en- 
dorsed by Charles Albert in his absence, declared 
that he would not adopt the government established 
by the latter. Charles Albert was urged to break 
altogether with his cousin; but, being scarcely more 
than twenty-three years of age and inexperienced, he 
saw no way to free himself from the political entangle- 
ments. Accordingly, he secretly left Turin and, not 
succeeding in gaining an interview with Charles Felix, 



174 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

he sought the home of his father-in-law, the Grand 
Duke of Tuscany. 

The royal party, aided by the Austrian troops, 
forced the revolutionists to retire, and in 1821 the 
revolution ended. The people of Genoa received the 
exiled patriots, and gave them money; and some of 
the most sympathetic even proposed with them to form 
a nucleus of a party for future resistance. But the 
revolutionists admonished them that the time was not 
yet ripe. 

Italy was shrouded in gloom for many years and 
the people were reduced by taxation to intolerable 
destitution. From this time up to the revolution of 
1830, few events of importance occurred. 

The greater number of the Piedmontese patriots 
who had joined the insurrection of 1821 finally took 
refuge in Spain or fought for Greek independence. 
Among these last was a comrade of Charles Albert, 
Santorre di Santarosa, who met death in 1825 like 
a hero. 

Ferdinand of Naples' minister, Canosa, having ter- 
rorized the people into something like order by im- 
prisonment and death, the Austrian troops entered 
Naples on the 23d of March, the leaders of the rev- 
olution at Avellino being executed among the first. 
On the 5th of May, 1821, the miserable Ferdinand I. 
died; and in 1830 Francis I., who was more wicked 
than his father, also died, and was succeeded by his 
son, Ferdinand II. 

Having made the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom a 
great fortress, with which to overawe all Italy, Austria 
committed the most monstrous outrages against the 
Italian people and nobility. Among such instances 
was that of one Federigo Confaloniere, suspected of 



Italy Aroused 175 

complicity with the Piedmontese revolution. He was 
suddenly alarmed one day by a visit from the Austrian 
marshal; and on trying to escape by a secret staircase 
in his house he was seized and sent to languish and 
die in a dungeon at Spielberg. 

The Austrians and the clergy hoped to persuade 
Charles Felix to cut ofif altogether his cousin, Charles 
Albert, who was inclined to liberalism, and, ignoring 
the Salic Law, to leave the throne to Francis of Mo- 
dena, who had married the sister of Charles Albert. 
The latter, however, would not agree to this ; but after 
calling his cousin to his court he obliged him, as a 
concession to the Holy Alliance, to enroll himself 
among the troops sent to Spain by them for the pur- 
pose of demolishing the Constitutional government 
lately set up there. Thus Charles Albert was called 
upon to crush out the same principles which he had 
formerly advocated, and at this time to fight against 
forces partly made up of those patriots who had been 
driven out of Piedmont. 

After the Napoleonic era every ambitious leader en- 
tertained a hope that by espousing the cause of the 
people he might be made head of the State. In the 
beginning of 1831 Francis of Modena united with 
Ciro Menotti, a rich manufacturer of Modena, in the 
leadership of a revolutionary league. Among the 
members was Louis Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, 
who, hoping to gain recognition of his title of King 
of France, divulged the whole plot to the Austrians; 
at the same time Francis of Modena also proved false 
and wrote to Vienna to warn the court against Louis 
Philippe himself, implicating the rest of his colleagues. 
Menotti soon found that Francis of Modena had de- 
ceived him, and instigated an insurrection during 



176 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

which Francis was obliged to flee to the Austrian 
garrison at Mantua ; but he took care to have Menotti 
brought along with him as prisoner. 

In 1 83 1 Pope Gregory XVI., who had recently been 
elected, was also having trouble in Romagna, on ac- 
count of the same revolution; and the Duchess of 
Parma, becoming involved, was obliged to flee. It 
was in the course of this revolution of 1830 that the 
two young Bonapartes first appeared, one of them 
dying afterwards at the massacre of Forli, and the 
other being the subsequent Emperor of France. 

The Pope had been forced to leave Rome, and a 
provisional government was set up everywhere; but 
the Austrians came to the aid of the Pope and brought 
back Francis of Modena and the Duchess of Parma. 
Francis, when restored, did not spare his former com- 
rades. He imprisoned some, executed others, and was 
not even merciful to Giro Menotti, whom he had 
promised to protect. 

Although the revolts of 1831 had been put down, 
the French were uneasy because of the power of the 
Austrians in the Papal States; and in 1832 Louis 
Philippe sought to check their influence by establish- 
ing a military post at Ancona. This was kept up until 
1838, when the Austrians were obliged to evacuate. 

Soon after the revolts in his kingdom were quelled, 
Gharles Felix died in 1831, leaving no children; and 
Gharles Albert succeeded to the throne. The latter's 
conduct had made Austrians and Italians alike doubt- 
ful of him, and the former hesitated to uphold him as 
King of Sardinia, while the Liberals in Italy con- 
sidered that he had betrayed his colleagues who had 
sustained him in 1821. The people, however, hoped 
from his early course that he would take the lead in 



Italy Aroused 177 

throwing off the Austrian yoke; but this would have 
brought on a war with that nation, and he knew that 
without the aid of France, who did not support him, 
he was not powerful enough to meet it. The sorrow 
and perplexity he felt at the situation, and the doubt 
as to which course to follow, may be seen by the re- 
mark he made on ascending the throne : " I stand 
between the dagger of the Carbonari and the adulation 
of the Jesuits." 

About this time Charles Albert received a fanatical 
anonymous epistle urging him to defy Austria and 
place himself at the head of the nation as the represen- 
tative of advanced ideas. The letter told him that this 
was his opportunity to hand his name down to pos- 
terity, and impressed upon him that if he hoped to 
succeed he must consecrate himself to the work as 
to a holy mission. It recalled the hopes centered in 
him from the position he had taken in 1821, and urg-^d 
that if he disappointed the expectations of the people 
opprobrium would succeed the joy which had greeted 
his succession; and the writer added: *'You will be 
hailed by posterity as the first among the heroes or 
the last of Italian despots.'' 

The author of these sentiments was Giuseppe Maz- 
zini, a young Genoese who had been confined in Savona 
for complicity with the Carbonari. On receiving the 
message Charles Albert ordered the prosecution of 
the writer whenever he should appear in Piedmont. 
This was just as Mazzini had expected; for he had 
written the letter to undeceive the Radicals, who had 
trusted in Charles Albert's liberal principles ; and now 
he organized a society called " Young Italy," whose 
object was to unite the nation and establish republi- 
can institutions. Though fanatical, impractical and 



178 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

impatient of results, Mazzini was an eloquent speaker, 
and was the first Italian statesman to declare that 
" Italy might and must some day exist as one free 
nation." He and his party, aided by Crispi, were san- 
guine that, with an army of patriotic countrymen 
gathered from the ends of Italy, they might free their 
land from the Austrian yoke. 

Charles Albert refused to lead the party, and Maz- 
zini, incensed at his conservative attitude, made the 
mistake of tampering with the king's soldiers, and by 
drawing them away from their allegiance threatened 
to destroy the only military support upon which Italy 
could depend. In putting down these revolts, many 
were executed, while others sacrificed their lives, 
among these being Mazzini's most devoted follower 
and trusted friend, Joseph Ruffini, who committed 
suicide lest, maddened by some of the tortures, he 
should in a frenzy disclose his friend's methods of 
procedure. 

Mazzini now established himself at Geneva, and, in 
January, 1833, with his army of exiles, sought to bring 
about a revolution in Savoy ; but the undertaking was 
abortive, and he was obliged to hide for a time in 
London. 

The Moderate party had confidence that Charles 
Albert would unite Italy and make her free; and ac- 
cordingly they were content to wait. The man destined 
to unite this Moderate party, and make it a neutraliz- 
ing force against the Liberals, was Count Camillo 
Benso di Cavour, who was born in 18 10, and was 
accordingly two years younger than Mazzini. He was 
at this era writing articles for the Risorgimenfo 
in Turin, a journal in opposition to the Mazzini organ, 
the Concordia, and all the while he was devoting 



Italy Aroused 179 

himself to political research. Of the three leaders 
who soon became prominent, Mazzini was said to be 
the prophet, Cavour the statesman, and Garibaldi the 
knight errant of Italian independence. These three 
were all natives of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Mazzini 
was from Genoa, which hated the enforced rule of 
Turin; Garibaldi was from Nice, the darling of the 
people, and Cavour a scion from the old Piedmontese 
aristocracy. This was a loyal stock, tenacious, truth- 
ful and brave ; and under its stolid exterior was hidden 
great political force. Cavour had the genius of the 
statesman, together with practical sense and great 
swiftness of detail; and though but for the others he 
could not have been the savior of Italy, without him 
Mazzini's fanatical effort would have been abortive, 
and Garibaldi's dexterous strokes in arms must have 
resulted in failure. 

When Francis 11. of Austria died, his weak-minded 
brother, Ferdinand I., ascended the throne, in 1835. 
He was so much of an imbecile, however, that even 
the mechanical effort of signing decrees was more of a 
task than he felt able to undertake, and thus the power 
fell into the hands of Metternich. 

Several plots were made against the lives of rulers 
in Italy during the next decade; and it was not until 
this time that the Piedmontese, realizing that their 
sovereign's life was in danger, awoke to a sense of 
loyalty. 

Up to this era the Popes, who had always been 
supported by the Austrians, were naturally in oppo- 
sition to the Liberals. Pius IX., the successor of 
Gregory XVI., worked on a new basis, however, and 
declared himself a Liberal, proclaiming general am- 
nesty to political prisoners and promoting liberty of 



i8o Italy: Her People and Their Story 

speech ; and it soon began to look as if the restorer of 
Italian freedom walked among them in pontifical garb. 
Italy went wild with enthusiasm, much to the dis- 
satisfaction of the radical republicans, who were the 
extremists in Rome; and frequent disturbances fol- 
lowed in the streets. Cardinals were attacked and the 
Papal Guards and police, not being strong enough to 
put down the riots, were obliged to accede to their 
demands. 

On July 6, 1847, the Pope proceeded to form a 
National guard throughout the Papal States, while 
the Austrian government in turn despatched an army 
and took possession of Ferrara in spite of the Papal 
legate. 

The following September the people rose against 
the Bourbon Duke in Lucca; and Tuscany, whose 
minister was Bettino Ricasoli, was soon roused. 
Events became more critical when the rulers in Parma 
and Modena were forced to allow Austria to garrison 
their cities as a defense against the Liberals. 

These were a few among the series of events which 
caused Charles Albert to turn to his own people for 
support, declaring that if the Austrians dared to go 
further, he would fight to the death for Italy. As 
early as 1845 Massimo d'Azeglio brought before him 
the hopes of Italian patriots and their expectation 
that help would come from Piedmont. The king then 
replied without hesitation : *' Tell these gentlemen 
that it is useless to act at present, but they may be 
sure that when opportunity comes, my life, the life of 
my son, my weapons, my treasure and my army shall 
all be used for the Italian cause." 

The climax was reached when Austria taxed the 
Sardinian kingdom in the matter of wine and salt 



Italy Aroused i8i 

for the purpose of testing her subservience, and as far 
back as the time when the Emperor required all the 
ItaHan rulers to be present in Milan to witness his 
coronation as sovereign of the Lombardo- Venetian 
kingdom, Charles Albert had flatly refused to accede 
to the demand. 

The first sound of the new revolutionary movement 
came from Sicily, the ist of January, 1848; and by the 
beginning of February the whole island was in a flame 
of revolt. This spread to Naples, and on the 28th of 
January Ferdinand II. of the Two Sicilies was obliged 
to promise a Constitution. The excitement advanced 
as far as Piedmont, and Cavour declared that a Con- 
stitution must be demanded and a statute given. This 
was granted by Charles Albert. 

These demonstrations were re-echoed in Tuscany 
when Leopold II. promised a Constitution, and on the 
14th of March the Pope granted a Constitution in 
the Papal States, a ministry having been previously 
established. 

During the first of January the Austrians goaded 
the Milanese into a riot about the tobacco tax, three 
score of the inhabitants being slaughtered. The news 
of the Sicilian revolt and of the Constitution granted 
by Ferdinand II. reached the north about the same 
time that the revolution of 1848 stirred the whole of 
Europe in a great struggle for freedom. The revolu- 
tion in Vienna, in which the Constitution was de- 
manded and finally granted by the Emperor, followed ; 
and Mettemich, who had control of Ferdinand's 
government, and who had once said contemptuously 
that Italy was only a "geographical expression/' was 
obliged to flee to England. 

On the i8th of March Milan grew wild at the news 



i82 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of these successes, and the people formed itself into 
a mob against the soldiery, barricading the streets, 
men, women and even children coming to the rescue 
of the insurgents. On the 20th of March they at- 
tacked the Hungarian garrison under General Radet- 
sky, and he, with his army of fourteen thousand men, 
having been driven out of the city on the 21st, Milan 
was free. On the 22d the gate of the city was 
burned, and the tricolored flag waved from the highest 
point of the Cathedral." 

When the news of what was going on had reached 
Venice, on the 17th of March, the people broke out 
into a riot, demanding that those incarcerated for 
political offenses should be set free; and on March 
22 the whole city arose against the commandant of 
the arsenal, a provisional government being set up 
by Danieli Manin, a Venetian Jew. For six days the 
conflict raged, and General Zichy wrote to Vienna 
that it would take seventy thousand troops in addition 
to his eighty thousand to quell the mob. The other 
principal Venetian cities also capitulated, and on 
the 22d of March, 1848, "the fall of the Austrian 
dominion and the re-establishment of the Venetian 
republic were proclaimed together from St. Mark's 
Square." 

On the 23d of March immediately following, the 
news flashed over the country like lightning that 
Milan was free and that the Austrians had retreated, 
a messenger arriving in Turin to implore Charles 
Albert to send an army to help defend Lombardy. 
Count Cavour appeared with an article in the Ri- 
sorgimento, saying that the hour had arrived on which 
the fate of the Empire and the destiny of the people 
hung like a thread, and that " doubt, hesitation and 



Italy Aroused 183 

delay were no longer possible.'* Then the crowd 
surrounded the royal palace at Turin, and when at 
midnight Charles Albert appeared with the tricol- 
ored flag in his hand, the enthusiasm of the people 
was beyond description; for at that moment the 
" dynasty of Savoy and the Piedmontese rule were 
united in consecration to the freedom of Italy." 

The following morning Charles Albert issued a proc- 
lamation, saying that his soldiers were now ready 
to send that aid which only a " friend can give a 
friend and brother a brother '' ; and that when his 
troops should enter the Lombardo- Venetian territory 
"They would march under the shadow of the tri- 
colored flag with the armorial bearings of Savoy." 

These sentiments awakened a response all over 
Italy. Modena, Reggio, Parma, Piacenza, Tuscany, 
the Pope, and even the King of Naples, were compelled 
to pledge their support, and Sicily dispatched a goodly 
number of volunteers. In all the decades of centuries 
of Italian history this was the first time that Italy 
from north to south and east to west had risen with 
a harmonious sentiment against the public enemy. 



184 Italy: Her People and Their Story 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE DEFEAT OF CHARLES ALBERT. — RESIGNS IN FAVOR OF 
HIS SON. — HIS MELANCHOLY DEATH. — ^VICTOR EMAN- 
UEL II.^'S LIBERAL REIGN. CAREER OF CAVOUR. — 

LOUIS NAPOLEON RESTORES THE POPE. — MASSIMO 
D^AZEGLIO. 

1848—1859 A.B. 

THE enthusiasm attending these liberal movements 
kept Charles Albert firm in his resolution to deliver 
Italy from the yoke of Austria. Volunteers from all 
parts of Italy enHsted under his banner, and in the 
last part of April, 1848, at the head of seventy-five 
thousand men, he joined the patriots at Milan. In 
all, ninety thousand volunteers were engaged against 
the fifty thousand veteran soldiers under the aged 
Radetsky, who, unfortunately for the volunteers, was 
a host in himself. Accordingly the struggle dragged 
on month after month, until finally, when Radetsky 
was heavily reinforced, Charles Albert had to retire 
at the Battle before Santa Lucia, the trouble being 
that he exhibited no originality of action, but little 
discretion, and lacked military genius. But after this 
he successfully besieged the fortress of Peschiera and 
gained a victory at the Bridge of Goito. His troops, 
however, were scattered from the mountains north of 
Verona to Mantua ; and the Pope's army in June had 
already surrendered to Radetsky. Still Charles Albert 
resisted bravely, with half of his army at Custoza for 
three days, " four brigades holding their own against 



Struggle for Independence Commences 185 

five Austrian army corps," notwithstanding that they 
were overcome by the heat and many other demoraliz- 
ing circumstances. But at last he was completely 
defeated on the 25th of July. 

In the meantime, events in the other parts of the 
peninsula had not been standing still. As early as 
the 29th of April Pope Pius had announced his in- 
tention of withdrawing from the contest as soon as 
he could recall his troops, who were already engaged 
near Verona under General Pepe. Ferdinand II. of 
the Two Sicilies also took this opportunity to retire; 
and the rest of the Italians, jealous of Charles Albert's 
growing power, cooled in their enthusiasm. Venice 
had formed herself into an independent republic, and 
in Milan the more advanced Liberals had come out 
against the king. Charles Albert thus found himself 
fighting alone in this gigantic struggle; and all these 
disagreements served to rouse discontent in the ranks 
of the army, interrupting concerted action and lessen- 
ing the bravery of the troops. 

Accordingly, after the defeat at Custoza, on the 
25th of July, when Charles Albert, instead of pro- 
tecting his retreat, turned toward Milan, still unsuc- 
cessfully fighting the enemy, his entrance as he ap- 
proached the city was a very different affair from what 
he had formerly imagined — " No huzzahs of the 
people, no acclamations of victory and no shouts of 
triumph met his ear. Instead of these he saw only 
anger at his failure. The streets were barricaded, 
bells tolled, and all was in the attitude of heroic de- 
fense." Accordingly the officers soon decided that 
it would be folly to hold out any longer, and terms 
of capitulation were signed. The people went wild 
at this terrible news, some even imputing disloyalty 



i86 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

to Charles Albert. Then the latter offered to fall 
fighting with the Milanese if they still wished to re- 
sist. The government thought best, however, to ratify 
the treaty of surrender, and that night, when the king 
tried to address the crowd, guns were fired and the 
rage of the exasperated mob was so great that Charles 
Albert was obliged to withdraw secretly, since he had 
left the greater part of his troops outside the gates. 

Consequently Charles Albert went out of the city 
on foot, many Lombard families accompanying him 
into his own territory. There he issued a proclama- 
tion, saying that he was not unaware of the aspersions 
with which some would tarnish his name, but that 
" God and his conscience were witnesses to the in- 
tegrity of his actions, which the impartial judgment 
of posterity would justify." He said: ** Every pulsa- 
tion of my heart has been for Italian independence, 
but Italy has not yet shown herself strong enough to 
accomplish this alone." 

Thus, in less than half a year's time Italy had 
learned that liberty cannot be gained contending over 
barricades, but that there must be firm and harmonious 
action to insure freedom to a nation. 

The House of Savoy, now in dust, could no longer 
think of governing Sicily. Accordingly Charles Al- 
bert's second son, the Duke of Genoa, declined the 
crown of the Two Sicilies just proffered him. Before 
King Ferdinand was victorious, however, nearly ten 
thousand Neapolitans were slain in a riot, and the 
severest measures were necessary to put the revolu- 
tion down; the Constitution in the meantime being 
sacrificed. Finally in September, 1848, Ferdinand 
bombarded Messina, and, after the general massacre 
usual in the Sicilian kingdom, the city fell. 



Struggle for Independence Commences 187 

It was said that the reason of all these failures was 
that the King of Sardinia feared a victory for the 
republicans more than Austrian subjugation. But 
Mazzini at this very time comprehended that the flag 
of Italy " trailed in the dust " because it was not yet 
the badge of the republican idea. 

Meanwhile, after the Battle of Custoza, all the 
northern kingdoms had been subdued by the Aus- 
trians, although the famous leader Garibaldi for some 
time kept up an irregular warfare. This wonderful 
adventurer, having been exiled on account of com- 
plicity with Mazzini, had been leading a life of daring 
in South America. Charles Albert had refused his 
services in the beginning of the disturbances, because 
he was afraid of his fanatical republicanism; but 
Garibaldi sat as Deputy from Nice when the Pied- 
montese Parliament met in 1848. He joined the up- 
rising in Milan during the middle of July, and later 
with his volunteers defended Brescia, until he was 
forced to retreat to the Alps the following October, 
having ignored the armistice of 1848, which Charles 
Albert was forced to make with the Austrians. 

The Moderate faction during this crisis was nearly 
crushed, and the Pope and the republicans were 
anxious to push matters to the utmost. Count Pelle- 
grino Rossi, seeing that the quarrel would give the 
Austrians an advantage, sought to mediate, and on 
November 15 he was struck down in the door of 
the Chamber. The people broke out into a riot, and 
the Pope, ten days later, having been forced to form 
a ministry, escaped in the disguise of a footman to 
Gaeta. Here he put himself under the protection of 
the King of Naples, and sent back word that his en- 
forced action after the 15th of November was invalid. 



i88 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

On the 5th of February, 1849, ^^ ^ Roman Assembly 
the temporal power of the Pope was once more de- 
clared at an end. A republic was then set up, the 
chief place being occupied by Mazzini as one of the 
Triumvirate, of which the two others were Safifi and 
Armillini. 

The Grand Duke of Tuscany also fled to Gaeta when 
the Liberals tried to compel him to organize a State 
according to their ideas under Guerazzi, Montanelli 
and Mazzini. 

After Custoza, Charles Albert declared to the Brit- 
ish and French ministers, when they wished to mediate, 
that " he must either abdicate or see an Italian re- 
public established.'' He said that he had thought of 
giving up his crown after the campaign of 1848, but 
had deferred the plan from a desire to vindicate his 
own honor against the aspersions of his enemies. But 
he now saw that if he fought he must fight alone, and 
he feared this was useless. 

On the 20th of March, the truce having been set 
aside, war broke out anew. The Austrians under Ra- 
detsky entered Piedmont with eighty thousand troops, 
and Charles Albert having given up the command, 
his army was led by Czarnowsky, a Pole. This 
proved to be an unfortunate exchange, and as a result 
the campaign, from a strategic point of view, was a 
failure. The Piedmontese, after one or two successes, 
were defeated, first at Mortara, and then in the ter- 
rible battle at Novara. 

It was a dreadful night, that 23d of March, when 
the Piedmontese soldiers scattered in flight, and 
Charles Albert, ascertaining that it was impossible 
to continue the struggle, saw that all was lost. The 
terms of the surrender were hard, and Charles Albert 



Struggle for Independence Commences 189 

would have gladly died fighting; but since he was 
denied this solace, he determined to leave Piedmont 
forever. As he departed from the scene of his 
calamities he said to one of his generals: "This is 
the last. I have exposed the life of my family and 
myself, and imperiled my throne, and I have failed. 
I am now the only obstacle to peace ; and since I can- 
not sign the deathblow to Italian independence, I will 
make myself a final sacrifice to my country; and ac- 
cordingly I lay down the crown and pass it over to 
my son, the Duke of Savoy." 

Not waiting for daylight, Charles Albert set out that 
night on his self-appointed exile, and a few months 
after, this heroic monarch died, broken-hearted, at 
Oporto in Spain. His pathetic death silenced the dis- 
cord of party strife; and when his body was brought 
home for burial on the Superga Heights, *^ Italy 
recognized his sterling virtue and made him her patron 
saint. Bands of pilgrims journeyed to his tomb, and 
from that time all felt that to do honor to his memory 
they must serve Italy " ; and more and more the 
people pledged themselves to fidelity and to the unity 
which his son with undeviating energy soon brought 
about. 

Victor Emanuel II. was bom at Turin in 1820, and 
was brought up a rigid Catholic. He had little inclina- 
tion for study and books, but later threw himself 
heart and soul into the Italian struggle for independ- 
ence. In the battle at the Bridge of Goito he turned 
the tide of battle favorably by his bravery, and in 
every subsequent encounter he was seen in the thickest 
of the fight. He had withal a soldierly bearing and 
was a cheerful and jolly companion, his qualities being 
in strong contrast to the melancholy and secretive 



190 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

character of his father, Charles Albert. He was very 
strong physically and fond of the chase; and many 
stories are told of his life as crown prince, while hunt- 
ing in the Val de Cogne. He knew everybody in the 
region personally and was especially fond of the fair 
sex. Inured to hardship, he astonished his companions 
by his power to endure the vicissitudes of rough camp- 
ing life. At two thousand meters above the sea he 
would camp out in a hunter's tent, rising at three 
o'clock to smoke his favorite pipe while promenading 
in the icy mountain air, all the time laughing at the 
fears of his suite about the danger from exposure. 

For the purpose of checking his restless habits, a 
marriage was contracted for Victor Emanuel H. with 
the Archduchess Adelaide of Austria, a kind and 
genial companion whom he admired and always 
treated with confidence, though he cared nothing for 
social etiquette and position, if he found any other 
lady charming. His ministers were annoyed by his 
expensive habits; but he understood how to disarm 
criticism by a quick wit; and the fact that he finally 
opened the way to the independence and unity of Italy 
was atonement for all his shortcomings. 

Victor Emanuel II., when he first ascended the 
throne, was obliged to make a compromise in favor 
of whatever terms Austria placed upon him, because 
the most powerful fortresses of Piedmont were in the 
latter's hands. On the 24th of March, 1849, he went 
to treat in person with Radetsky, who had hoped that, 
since Victor Emanuel II. had married the daughter of 
Archduke Reinier, " the tricolored flag would disap- 
pear from the country forever." Disappointed in this, 
Radetsky obliged the king to pay fifty million dollars 
ready money, and to garrison the Sardinian frontier 



Struggle for Independence Commences 191 

between the Ticino and Sesia, and also to disband 
nearly all the Piedmontese troops and to occupy the 
fortresses of Alessandria in common with the Aus- 
trians. 

After the defeat of Charles Albert, at the end of 
October, 1848, the Austrians had moved on Venice, 
and kept the inhabitants defending the city all winter. 
General Haynau, who had already rendered his name 
infamous for all time at Brescia, finally removed his 
forces to Venice in the March of 1849, ^^d tried to 
intimidate the government into surrendering; though 
from the beginning the situation was hopeless. On 
the 2d of April the Venetians heroically decided not 
to yield until the last resort. Under the able leader- 
ship of Daniele Manin, they made the day of their 
downfall one of the most illustrious in history. On 
the night of the 4th of May of the same year, after 
a disastrous attack under Marshal Radetsky, the 
victory belonged to the Venetians. The siege was kept 
up, however, for months, until famine was added to the 
terrors of war ; but it was not until cholera succeeded 
famine that Daniele Manin consented to a consulta- 
tion with the Austrian envoys, as the result of which 
hostilities ceased on the 22d of August. On the 24th 
papers of surrender were endorsed, and on the 30th 
Radetsky celebrated mass at St. Mark's. 

Though Mazzini and his party were no longer in 
the ascendancy, the course pursued by such men as 
himself and Daniele Manin had taught the masses that 
with perseverance and their co-operation the longed- 
for union of Italy would soon become an accomplished 
fact. Daniele Manin was afterwards banished by the 
Austrians and died in exile as early as 1857. Ten 
years later his body was interred on the north side of 



192 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

St. Mark's in Venice, where the inscription on his 
tomb is now read daily by interested tourists. 

On the 29th of March, 1849, a revolt in Genoa was 
put down by a body of troops under Alphonso la 
Marmora; and on the 12th of April of the same year 
Leopold went back to Tuscany. But he disaffected 
the Moderate party, who had reinstated him, by re- 
turning under the protection of the Austrian militia, 
himself clothed in an Austrian uniform. Parma and 
Modena also replaced their dukes on the throne, and 
King Ferdinand of Naples kept his subjects trodden 
down by the help of foreign mercenaries. 

Soon after the final defeat of Charles Albert it be- 
came evident that Austria intended to take possession 
of Rome and restore the Pope; and she gradually 
advanced her forces as far as Ancona. In the De- 
cember of 1848 Louis Napoleon, having succeeded in 
obtaining the presidency of the French republic, saw 
that, though opposed to the Austrian movement, in 
order to have the support of the Church he must 
reinstate the Pope at Rome. He now despatched to 
Italy General Oudinot, who landed at Civita Vecchia 
in April with twenty-eight thousand men and be- 
sieged Rome. The Romans recalled Garibaldi and 
placed him in command of their forces. Ferdinand 
of Naples with his troops went out to help the Papal 
army, but was defeated by Garibaldi at Palestrina on 
May II. Garibaldi, knowing that his handful of vol- 
unteers could accomplish nothing against the whole 
of the French army, temporarily made a truce with 
France; but General Oudinot declared that these ne- 
gotiations were not valid, and for nearly four weeks 
Garibaldi, with his men and the extemporized Ro- 
man force fought outside the city. On the 13th of 



Struggle for Independence Commences 193 

June there was a memorable struggle, in which 
many of the Liberals fell, thus immortalizing their 
names, Goffredo Mameli, the young poet, being among 
the number. In the contest the French made a large 
break in the wall, so that on July 2 the gates of the 
city were opened to them. At the request of Na- 
poleon III. all the great works of art were spared. 

Garibaldi with five thousand men escaped, as well 
as Mazzini. They had intended to carry on a guerilla 
warfare in the passes of the Apennines; but, finding 
himself menaced by both Austria and France, Gari- 
baldi took leave of his men in the territory of the re- 
public of San Marino, which had received them as 
refugees. 

In a little street on the summit of that great rock on 
which the village of San Marino is situated there is a 
tablet of which the inhabitants are justl}' proud. It 
reads from the original Italian like this : " Soldiers, 
in this friendly refuge all must deport themselves in a 
manner which shall deserve the consideration due to 
the unfortunate. I now release you from the duty of 
accompanying me. Return to your homes; but re- 
member that Italy must not remain in servitude and 
disgrace." This was written on the 30th of Septem- 
ber, 1849. O^ the same wall there is another framed 
inscription, with th^ date of 1861, probably a quotation 
from a letter, which says : " I am proud to be a 
citizen of this estimable republic," and another writ- 
ten in 1864, *' I shall always hold in memory the 
hospitality of San Marino in the hour of extreme dan- 
ger to myself and Italy." 

Three hundred of Garibaldi's followers desired to 
go with him to Venice to help in a struggle which was 
then going on with the base Haynau and his troops. 



194 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Accordingly they procured a dozen little fishing 
smacks and set out; but the beautiful night proved 
unfortunate for the wayfarers, so that the Austrian 
vessels which pursued them were able to capture 
all but five of their boats. In one of these were Gari- 
baldi and his wife, who had heroically shared all his 
trials and dangers. She was ill, and he was obliged 
to carry her in his arms to the shore, where, having 
found a hiding place in a cornfield, he laid her down 
and sent his companions to seek shelter somewhere in 
the mountain passes. Much to Garibaldi's delight, an 
old companion-in-arms, who was recuperating amongst 
the heights, appeared and soon helped them to procure 
a refuge with his relatives. Garibaldi's wife, already 
dying from fatigue and exposure, expired before they 
could summon a doctor, her last words being loving 
messages to her sons. Garibaldi was obliged to leave her 
to be buried by the strange cottagers ; and, after much 
suffering, he reached Genoa, whence he embarked for 
America. He remained here about five years. 

It was not until April, 1850, that Pope Pius IX. was 
brought back to Rome, where, guided by the Jesuits 
and supported by the French garrison, he kept the 
people under martial law until the entry of the Italians 
in 1870. 

The Italian insurrection was indeed crushed, and 
the hopes of the revolutionary party for a time van- 
ished ; but the assertion of d'Azeglio, *' the House of 
Savoy cannot retreat," expressed the determination 
of the ruling classes. The greatest inspiration to all 
at this crisis was the thought " that the defenders of 
Rome and Venice had not been princes or nobles, but 
men of the people, artisans and tradesmen, as well as 
advocates and attorneys." All had now come to see 



Struggle for Independence Commences 195 

that the regeneration of Italy could not be accom- 
plished in a moment ; but that the nation must first be 
shaped; and all agreed that the task must be en- 
trusted to Piedmont, since she alone was able to enlist 
reliable volunteers for emergencies. 

Thus, even after the Peace of Novara, the moderate 
factions looked to Victor Emanuel 11. to save Italy, 
and people believed that, although his father had 
failed, Victor Emanuel himself would triumphantly 
carry on their cause. 

Austria, feeling that Sardinia was a protest against 
her tyranny, fortified her boundaries with new zeal, 
at the same time forbidding Sardinia to take up arms. 
The latter replied that she would apply to France; 
and Louis Napoleon, since the French felt that they 
must have Sardinia to depend upon in case of possible 
hostile European coalitions, now informed Austria 
that ** he should not look with indifference on their 
invasion of Sardinia." He also said that if he entered 
into war it would be to restore Italy to independence. 
He declared that, though he should not disturb the 
Pope, whom he had re-established, he should maintain 
order on legitimate grounds; and accordingly he set 
two hundred thousand French troops in motion. 

Piedmont under the new king had already a Con- 
stitution, and the people were not restricted in religious 
matters nor in their newspapers and books. Victor 
Emanuel 11. was loyal to all parties, priding himself on 
the epithet of '' The Honest King." With the help of 
his chief minister, Massimo d'Azeglio, and Camillo 
Benso di Cavour, his Minister of Commerce, he con- 
scientiously carried on the reforms begun by Charles 
Albert. Ever after the accession of Cavour in 18521 
the career of Victor Emanuel was to a great extent 



196 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

what this able minister made it, since the king placed 
himself largely under his political guidance, as a 
leader every way capable of pioneering the State to a 
national union. 

Vincenzo Gioberti, before his death, the preceding 
year, had written a book which pointed out Piedmont 
as the substantial basis for a united Italy, and empha- 
sized the mistakes they had all made in 1848-49, in a 
manner which helped all Italian statesmen in the 
future. 

The Siccardi Law was soon put in force. This set 
aside the ecclesiastical courts, which for a long time 
had stood in the way of Italian unity; and in 1854, at 
the instigation of Ratazzi, monastic bodies were sup- 
pressed. This movement was a great blow to two or 
three thousand ecclesiastics, who had still remained 
after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1848. 

Ratazzi, the advocate, and Cavour, the skillful de- 
bater and great statesman, at first worked apart; but 
finally they were attracted to each other by what is 
called the ^'affinity of contraries " ; and, together with 
d'Azeglio, they played a most important part in 
shaping the constitutional government of that era. 
D'Azeglio, however, thought that Cavour was advanc- 
ing too rapidly in reforms when he joined the demo- 
cratic party in Piedmont, headed by Ratazzi; and in 
1853 he resigned, the premiership being taken by 
Cavour. The latter forwarded all progressive move- 
ments throughout Italy, but he gave a special impulse 
to Piedmont, intersecting the country with railways 
and telegraph wires, and altogether greatly developing 
commerce. 

In the face of great opposition Cavour favored the 
alliance with England and France, who were opposed 



Struggle for Independence Commences igy 

to Russia; for he considered the latter the hot-bed of 
despotism as well as an enemy of Italian freedom ; and, 
besides, he knew that by this alliance European equi- 
librium would be better maintained. He also soon saw 
that otherwise, in order to secure the co-operation of 
Austria, these powers might connive at her encroach- 
ment in Italy. By a secret stipulation in the treaty the 
French and English were to cancel the obligation 
some time in the future in the ever impending Italian 
strife. Cavour also perceived that by proving her- 
self a valuable auxiliary in the Crimean War Pied- 
mont would acquire the respect of the powers. Ac- 
cordingly, taking advantage of his alliance with 
England and France, on January lo, 1855, fifteen 
thousand troops set out for the Crimea under Alphonso 
la Marmora, and on August 6, " on the banks of the 
Tchernaya," in a measure " redeemed the glory of 
their flag from the shame of Novara." 

It was at this time that, within the same week, 
the king's mother, Maria Theresa, his wife, Adelaide, 
and his brother, Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa, died. 
The nation sympathized deeply with him; but the 
clericals regarded it as a just visitation upon him for 
having so lately legislated against them. 

In pouring out her best blood and treasure in the 
Crimea, Piedmont had not fought for conquest or 
glory, but for the right to be heard in behalf of Italy 
in the great council chambers of Europe. Conse- 
quently in 1856 she was invited to take part in the 
Congress of Paris. Here Cavour, by his dignified 
bearing, great tact and keen insight, took a distin- 
guished place in the deliberations of this body. He 
insisted that Italy should be placed on the same foot- 
ing as the other great powers ; and, seeing that Austria 



198 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

intended to persist in her course, he arraigned her at 
the bar of European opinion, and made a touching 
plea in behalf of his oppressed country. He reproached 
Austria with her bad faith, enumerated her usurpa- 
tions, and exposed her subterfuges. ^He depicted the 
melancholy condition of Piedmont, overrun by foreign 
soldiery and subjected to a military despotism. He 
then cited the occupation of Venice in open violation 
of solemn treaties, charging Austria to deny his as- 
sertions. 

Austria assumed a defiant attitude, although she 
was able to make but a lame defense. Lord Claren- 
don, among others, was much excited, telling Austria 
that if she refused to make pledges with reference to 
Italy the liberal element in Europe would consider it 
a challenge which at no distant day would be taken up. 

Furthermore, Gladstone reported that the tyranny 
he had observed while waiting for an audience with 
King Ferdinand H. in Naples in 185 1 had so aroused 
his ire that he withdrew without seeing his Majesty; 
and on his return to England he published a letter he 
had written to Lord Aberdeen, saying that the Bourbon 
rule in the Two Sicilies was in the present era of ad- 
vancement a disgrace to humanity. The powers, how- 
ever, remonstrated with Ferdinand in vain. At this 
Congress of Paris the Pontifical rule also was de- 
nounced as a scandal to Europe. 

About this time some of Mazzini's followers tried 
to organize conspiracies against the King of Naples; 
and later Baron Francesco Bentivegna was shot for 
engaging in one of these. There were also many 
other unsuccessful plots, which proved the impossi- 
bility of putting down despotism by mobs. 

On the 1 6th of April, 1858, Cavour in the Chamber 



Struggle for Independence Commences 199 

defined the political situation since 1849. He declared 
that, after Novara, Piedmont might have gone back 
to the position that she had held in 1848 ; but, while im- 
mediate prosperity would have followed from that 
course, she would have " sacrificed all the glorious tra- 
ditions of the House of Savoy, and would have repu- 
diated the melancholy but magnificent heritage left 
them by Charles Albert." Cavour told them that the 
only way to combat such perils as they would no doubt 
provoke in the jealousy of the powers by supporting 
these traditions, was on the field of battle with bat- 
talions and fleets. He said : " As in the days of 
Frederick the Great, Fortuna is not always on the side 
of justice; for that goddess loves to befriend the 
largest armies and the strongest squadrons; but, lack- 
ing these, our nation must gain the support of reliable 
allies." 

Cavour had concluded from his travels abroad that 
although the English sympathized with Italy, Great 
Britain at present would probably only give them 
moral support; and accordingly they must depend 
upon Napoleon HI. as an ally. Yet it was difficult 
just at that time to gain Napoleon's confidence, since 
an Italian, Felice Orsini, had shortly before made an 
attempt upon the latter's life. In 1858, however, 
Cavour and Napoleon formed a treaty at Plombieres, 
the basis of their future alliance; and later, in 1859, 
Prince Jerome Napoleon came to Turin to arrange a 
marriage with Princess Clotilde, Victor Emanuers 
eldest daughter, this union being an event of great 
political importance. In the March of 1859, in an 
interview with Cavour at Paris, Napoleon made the 
condition that he would only intervene between Aus- 
tria and Piedmont in case of the latter being the in- 



200 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

jured party; and, accordingly, Cavour determined to 
observe the same tactics with regard to Austria that 
Bismarck, a little later, practiced in his dealings with 
France, namely to drive the Austrians to an early 
declaration of war. Mctor Emanuel, therefore, had 
notified the Austrian Emperor that he would make war 
on Austria unless a national government were granted 
to Lombardy and Venice. Austria immediately re- 
called her minister at Turin^ and, commanding the 
King of Sardinia to disarm his forces, mobilized an 
army, which was sent to the various posts on the Pied- 
mont frontier. Thereupon Cavour despatched mes- 
sengers to Garibaldi and warned him to be ready. 

In answer to an accusation that a bill had been 
brought for^vard for raising fifty million francs, for 
the purpose of involving all Europe as well as Sar- 
dinia in war, Cavour recalled the policy of Victor 
Emanuel since 1849, which was never to provoke 
revolution, but to develop the principles on which the 
institutions granted by Charles Albert were based — 
those of liberty and nationality. He then reminded 
them that after the Paris Congress events had war- 
ranted the opinion that the difficulties of the Italian 
question could never be settled '' by pacific and diplo- 
matic means," and that later proceedings had justified 
this theor}'. The Sardinian ministr}' immediately de- 
cided on war. 

During these perilous days the labor of Cavour was 
herculean. He was President of the Council, Minister 
of ]\Iarine and Minister of War. He even transferred 
his bed to the War Office, protracting his labors far 
into the night, hurr}'ing from one debate to another in 
his dressing-gown, dictating dispatches, transmitting 
orders, and directing the operations in the field. He 



Struggle for Independence Commences 201 

infused a portion of his own patriotism into the hearts 
of the despondent, saying : " Courage, my friends, we 
will give to Italy the regeneration dreamed of by 
Gioberti." 

The adroitness of Cavour was never more apparent 
than at this epoch. He temporized with Mazzini, if 
it served his purpose, and proposed terms of friendly 
alliance to the Bourbons. He managed his coalition 
with England and France with the greatest dexterity 
and extended a hand to any who were willing to co- 
operate with him. His power over Napoleon IH. 
amounted to a fascination, compelling him to engage 
in a war which he neither sought nor desired. 

As the republicans in Venetia had rushed to the 
standard of Daniele Manin, saying : '' Regenerate Italy 
and we are with you," so the noblest of the Italian 
youth now flocked to the standard of Garibaldi, asking 
for nothing better than to die for their country. Ac- 
cordingly thirty thousand volunteers awaited with 
swords half drawn the signal to rush upon the Aus- 
trian legions. 

The formal announcement of hostilities followed, 
and Victor Emanuel roused his troops to enthusiasm 
by the following speech : '* Soldiers, we are not in- 
sensible to the cry of suffering that arises from so 
many parts of Italy. Austria threatens to invade our 
country, and dares to tell us, who are armed only in 
our own defense, to lay down our weapons and put 
ourselves in her power. I am certain that you are pre- 
pared to make your nation's wrongs your own, and I, 
who recognized your prowess when fighting under 
my magnificent father, will be your leader, convinced 
that on the field of honor and glory you will be able 
to justify and augment your military renown. You 



202 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

may remember with pride Pastrengo, Goito, Santa 
Lucia, and above all Custoza, where four brigades held 
out three days against five army corps. Crown with 
fresh laurels that standard which rallies from all 
quarters the flower of Italy to its three-fold colors, and 
points out your task — that sacred enterprise under- 
taken for the independence of Italy/' 



The Unification of Italy Completed 203 



CHAPTER XIV 

VICTORIES OF MAGENTA AND SOLFERINO. — ^DISGRACEFUL 

TRUCE WITH AUSTRIA BY NAPOLEON. CENTRAL ITALY 

CEDED TO PIEDMONT. — THE TREATY OF VILLAFRANCA. 
— NICE AND SAVOY GIVEN TO FRANCE. — GARIBALDI 
DELIVERS KINGDOM OF NAPLES. — THE UNIFICATION 
OF ITALY. — CAVOUR's DEATH. — SEPTEMBER CONVEN- 
TION. 

1859—1861 A.D. 

THE Austrians now crossed the Ticino, but were 
defeated by the Sardinian army and General Cial- 
dini. On the loth of May Louis Napoleon left Paris 
and embarked at Marseilles, arriving at Genoa on the 
I2th, twelve thousand troops having preceded him; 
and on the 14th he found Victor Emanuel at Alessan- 
dria with sixty thousand Piedmontese soldiers. On 
the 20th the Austrians were defeated by the French 
and Piedmontese at Montebello, and on the 30th, hav- 
ing been put to flight at Palestro by the French and 
Sardinians, they were pursued as far as Magenta. 
Here, on the 4th of June, the whole of the Austrian 
army engaged the French, and this fierce battle, cele- 
brated for instances of bravery, lasted all day. All 
the modem tactics of war were employed, and there 
were forty thousand men either killed or wounded. 
On the 8th of June Victor Emanuel II. and Napoleon 
III. entered Milan in triumph, while that same day the 
Austrians were beaten at Melegnano, and Garibaldi 
entered Bergamo. " He had been the last one to leave 



204 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Lombardy in 1848, and was now among the first to 
re-enter that country." 

After the Battle of Magenta, Emperor Francis 
Joseph, who had succeeded his brother Ferdinand I. on 
his abdication in 1848, assumed command of the Aus- 
trian army. During the night of the 23d of June the 
retreating Austrians took a stand to the south of the 
Lake of Garda, and on the following morning they 
were met by the Franco-Piedmontese army, the com- 
bating force covering a line of fifteen miles. The 
Austrians held their position on a range of hills over- 
looked by Solferino and San Martino ; and it was only 
after a terrible day's battle that the French succeeded 
in occupying Solferino, on the 24th of June, 1859. 
San Martino was taken and lost four times before the 
Austrian army retreated, protected by the darkness 
resulting from a terrific tempest. The combatants 
were reckoned at three hundred thousand, one hundred 
and sixty thousand of whom were Austrians. The 
total loss was twenty-five thousand. 

Francis Joseph now retired into Venetia behind 
fortresses which Austria had been years in construct- 
ing for such an emergency ; and it now seemed certain 
that the Austrians would be headed off and driven out 
of Italy. But, instead of this, the most unexpected 
events happened. On the 8th of July, 1859, Louis 
Napoleon demonstrated the inefficiency of his weak 
character by ratifying terms of peace with Francis 
Joseph at Villafranca without consulting Victor 
Emanuel. Austria was obliged to cede only Lombardy 
to the west of the Mincio to the King of Sardinia, 
leaving Venice out in the cold; whereas Napoleon 
III. had agreed to free Italy from the Alps to the 
Adriatic. According to the treaty, the Italian States 



The Unification of Italy Completed 205 

were to be united in a confederation, with the Pope 
at their head, and Austria, by keeping Venice, would 
have been a member of the confederation. The Grand 
Duke of Tuscany and the Dukes of Modena and 
Parma, all of whom had been obliged to flee, were to 
be restored. But none of these weak rulers ever re- 
turned, and the proposed confederation was never 
realized, since these duchies under their provincial 
governors, together with Romagna, begged Victor 
Emanuel II. to annex them to his kingdom. At the 
loss of Romagna and the Marches, which also rebelled, 
the Pope sent a Bull of Excommunication against all 
his enemies. 

Cavour had promised Napoleon III. that he should 
have Savoy for his pains ; and now the latter claimed 
it ; for he thought that otherwise from a military point 
of view Savoy was highly dangerous to him. To re- 
fuse such a command from his only remaining ally 
would have been madness, and Victor Emanuel 11. 
was obliged to consent to give up the "cradle of his 
monarchy," as well as Nice. Garibaldi was so grieved 
that he said *' that man Cavour has made me a stranger 
in my own house." Cavour replied with deep emo- 
tion: "I know that between General Garibaldi and 
myself there exists an unfathomable abyss ; but I was 
performing the most painful duty of my life when I 
counseled the king to cede Nice and Savoy to France. 
From my own grief I can realize what Garibaldi has 
suffered, and I can well afford to pardon him if he 
cannot forgive me." This startling controversy took 
place in the memorable session of the April of i860. 

It was a long time before the Italians forgave the 
great statesman for his share in Piedmont's losses, 
resulting from, what seemed to them, premature 



2o6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

promises. Outside of Italy, too, this cession of Nice 
and Savoy caused great discontent, since by the treaty 
of Vienna these provinces, if ever separated from 
Piedmont, Were to be annexed to Switzerland. 

The Peace of Villafranca was so great an affliction 
to Cavour that he grew careworn and aged greatly 
in the space of three days; and, overcome by fatigue 
and chagrin, he retired from the Cabinet to his villa 
at Leri, leaving Ratazzi to open a new ministry. He, 
however, saw compensation; for Villafranca had 
opened a new vista — the final subjection of Austria 
and the unity of Italy; and, accordingly, in i860 he 
resumed his place in the government. 

Though Louis Napoleon did all he was strong 
enough to accomplish, and probably what was the best 
in the end for Italy, it has been a great question why 
he did not follow up his advantage. No doubt the first 
and greatest reason was that, although he favored 
Italian freedom, he was afraid he could not control 
Italian politics; and accordingly he arranged a con- 
federacy in which France was sure to have the ascen- 
dancy. Another potent explanation for his action was 
that he feared there would be an alliance between 
Austria, Prussia and Great Britain against himself and 
Italy, which would be too overpowering to meet; and 
some have thought that besides these greater influ- 
ences he dreaded the hardships and horrors of pro- 
longed warfare. 

While the late startHng events had been going on, 
Ferdinand II. of the Two Sicilies, who had acquired 
the name of " Bomba," from his frequenc assaults upon 
his people, had died on May 22, 1859, detested by 
everybody. Throughout his whole reign he had 
sought to keep down insurrections through fear, shoot- 



The Unification of Italy Completed 207 

ing revolutionists in the streets without mercy, and 
incarcerating thousands of patriots, besides establish- 
ing a police system under which no one was safe. It 
has been said that in view of the years of oppression 
which Naples endured under cruel rulers, it is no won- 
der that at the present time all the songs in southern 
Italy are in a minor key. 

The mother of Francis II., the new King of the 
Two Sicilies, nicknamed *' Bombino/' was Maria 
Christina, whom the Neapolitans called the " Saint," 
on account of her forbearance and amiability. She 
had died in 1836, and Francis 11. was brought up under 
the Jesuits by his Austrian stepmother, " to whose 
demoralizing training he did great credit"; for each 
year exiles from his tyranny spread tales of Bourbon 
cruelty all over Europe. A strong friendship had 
existed between Victor Emanuel II. and Christina, the 
boy's mother, and the king advised Francis II. not 
only to grant a constitution, but to unite with Piedmont 
in sending troops against Austria. Francis, however, 
did not heed his counsel until it was too late, and in 
i860, when he might possibly have consented to reform, 
a revolt in Palermo had already broken out, the insur- 
rection spreading through Messina and Catania. 

Although Garibaldi feared that it might prove a 
reckless venture, he finally consented to lead a Sicilian 
expedition, already fully equipped by Augustino Ber- 
tani and Giuseppe la Farina. The Sicilian exile Crispi 
and Nino Bixio urged him to go on ; but Cavour, who 
appreciated the advantage to be gained in case of the 
success of such an enterprise, took no active part in 
its execution, although he secretly encouraged it. 

General Garibaldi, with twelve hundred volunteers 
called " The Thousand," set sail from Genoa the 5th 



2o8 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of May, i860, in two Italian ships, the " Lombardo " 
and " Piemonte," of the Rubatino Company. Gari- 
baldi was not disheartened at the ostensible disap- 
proval of the government, because he knew that suc- 
cess would make it all right everywhere. 

On the nth of May Garibaldi stepped out upon the 
beach at the town of Marsala, followed by his men; 
and, after taking possession unopposed, he " unfurled 
the flag of Sicilian independence in the name of Victor 
Emanuel, King of Italy.'' Here they met with many 
curious experiences, one of them being at the tele- 
graph office. *' The operator was just reporting over 
the wires that two Sardinian vessels were disembark- 
ing troops in the harbor, when one of Garibaldi's party 
who was an expert in telegraphy, pushed him aside and 
finished the message with ; ' made a mistake, only two 
trading vessels.' The reply to this was brief and rather 
profane, and then the pseudo-operator cut the wires." 

At Salemi, the next halt, Garibaldi declared himself 
dictator in Victor Emanuel's name. The Neapolitan 
government, now alarmed, telegraphed to General 
Landi, at Palermo, to meet Garibaldi with a large 
force ; and the struggle which took place at Calatafimi 
was most terrible, though Landi was finally defeated. 
After a week's siege Garibaldi succeeded in getting 
possession of Palermo by strategy, his troops entering 
on the 27th of May. Although they were driven away 
from here, they again defeated the king's troops at 
Milazzo on the 7th of June, where the mountaineers 
and peasantry rallied around Garibaldi during the en- 
gagement. The conquest of Sicily was now complete 
except for Messina, which continued to hold out even 
after being abandoned by King Francis; and in fatct 
it never really surrendered. 



The Unification of Italy Completed 209 

The Neapolitan's were paralyzed with fear and the 
upper classes left the city, all mercantile transactions 
being suspended. The terrified king promised to 
ameliorate the condition of his people and begged 
Victor Emanuel to put a stop to the movement, and 
the latter was finally obliged to send word to Garibaldi 
not to cross over to Naples. Cavour, fearing that the 
country and the people were unprepared for so sudden 
a union, would far rather have delayed the con- 
solidation with the south for awhile; but since affairs 
were so well started he wrote to Garibaldi not to leave 
the work uncompleted, and at the same time he himself 
did all in his power to secretly precipitate revolt in 
Naples. But it was in Potenza, in the Basilicata, that 
this revolution finally did its effective work; for, on 
the i6th of August, the citizens in this town were the 
first to raise the flag of Italian independence. 

Thus, when Garibaldi landed on the shores of 
Naples with his heroic followers, thousands were there 
ready to unite with them, and the insurgents in Umbria 
and the Marches were " listening for Garibaldi's 
bugles." On the 8th of September, i860. Garibaldi 
had overcome all difficulties and entered Naples. All 
the populace at the windows and in the streets wel- 
comed him with a kind of delirium, shouting, weeping 
and embracing each other, amidst loud cries of " Long 
live Italian Unity." 

" Garibaldi, having inaugurated a provisional gov- 
ernment, was as inconsistent in his procedure as 
the wildest of the throng. He launched one proclama- 
tion after another ; first expelling the Jesuits and then 
confiscating the goods of the clergy, and at last abolish- 
ing lotteries and such vices. In his visionary moments 
he proposed, after the reduction of Capua and G^eta 



210 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

to march upon Rome, liberate the Marches and Umbria, 
and in the name of Itahan Hberty advance from vic- 
tory to victory until he could unfurl the tricolored flag 
upon the summit of St. Mark's/' A republic might 
have been established in such a way, but more likely 
chaos would have followed, instead of the subsequent 
magnificent consolidation of the State, since there was 
a lack of concord, and an exhausted treasury crippled 
the government. 

There were fifty thousand troops in Naples loyal 
to the Bourbon dynasty, and ready at any moment to 
break through Garibaldi's lines. In this case a counter 
revolution was sure to follow. Indeed, on the ist of 
October Garibaldi was obliged to meet such an emer- 
gency. 

Had it not been for Cavour's statesmanship at this 
time these complications might have resulted in for- 
eign intervention; but, acting under his counsel as 
prime minister, Victor Emanuel II. now took a more 
decided stand, and sent word to the Pope, whose troops 
were getting troublesome, that he was about to rescue 
the inhabitants from the cruelties Lamoriciere was then 
committing in Umbria and the Marches. Accordingly, 
on September ii, without awaiting a reply, the Ital- 
ian soldiers crossed the frontier under Cialdini, and 
occupied Perugia. On the i8th of September the 
Papal army was beaten at Castelfidardo, and Lamo- 
riciere, having fallen back on Ancona, was obliged to 
capitulate on the 26th of September. 

Piedmont wished to immediately annex the Neapoli- 
tan provinces in order to show the European nations 
what had really been done. Garibaldi, however, in- 
fluenced by the erratic counsels of Mazzini, as well as 
by his own inclinations, was determined first to liberate 



The Unification of Italy Completed 211 

Rome and Venice and also to get back Nice. Cavour 
knew that all this could not be accomplished at once, 
and exclaimed : " Garibaldi wishes to prolong the 
revolution; while we wish to end it." So the breach 
between the two great men, which had arisen at the 
time of the cession of Nice to France, was greatly- 
widened; and the position became uncomfortable to 
Garibaldi, especially as he was accustomed to adula- 
tion accorded so freely and exhibited so unreservedly 
by the people of the south because he had done so 
much for them. *'The badge of the Garibaldian 
volunteer was to them a greater inspiration than the 
gray coat of the Piedmontese, the ensigns of order, 
for which they were not ready." It was partly to con- 
ciliate Garibaldi and keep him from moving on Rome, 
and at the same time to keep control of the revolution, 
that the king had sent troops into the Papal States. 

King Francis II. of the Two Sicilies replied to all 
advances made by the new government : *^ I do not 
understand what you mean by the independence of 
Italy; I only recognize the independence of Naples." 
Until it was too late he refused all alliance with Ca- 
vour, and on the 6th of September fled to Gaeta, which 
he now prepared to defend with an army of thirty 
thousand against a siege begun by the Sardinians in 
i860. 

On the 26th of October, i860, Victor Emanuel II. 
met Garibaldi in the country near Teanum, and was 
greeted by the " red-shirted volunteer " as King of 
Italy. The king and Garibaldi seated side by side 
made their triumphal entry into Naples. Through the 
influence of the provisional government Garibaldi 
became reconciled to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 
being united to the Sardinian kingdom; and, accord- 



212 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

ingly, a bill was passed to that effect by a unanimous 
vote of the people. The great revolutionist now volun- 
tarily laid aside his dictatorial dignity and retired to 
Caprera with a disinterestedness worthy of an old 
Roman ; and " the sword left by the Ghibelline leader, 
Castruccio Castracani, as a legacy to him who should 
become the liberator of his country " was given over 
to Victor Emanuel II. The latter was then proclaimed 
King of Italy by the " Grace of God " and the will of 
the people. 

When Victor Emanuel II. made his opening speech 
at Turin in the February of 1861, he expressed special 
appreciation in the name of the Italian people for the 
kindly attitude which the English had exhibited toward 
them in their recent struggle for liberty. Up to this 
time Victor Emanuel had simply been recognized as 
King of Sardinia; but on his birthday, the 14th of 
March, 1861, Parliament, by acclamation, declared him 
King of Italy; and on the 17th of the same month the 
enactment was put on record as one of the statutes. 
Soon afterwards this title was acknowledged by Eng- 
land, and a little later by Switzerland and the United 
States. 

On the 2d of November, i860, the fortress of Capua 
had been taken ; but Gseta, the brave defense of whose 
garrison was one of the most remarkable events of 
the period, could not be seized on account of the pro- 
tection of the French fleet. Napoleon III., however, 
on being reminded that he was violating his neutrality, 
withdrew his squadron. 

It was three months after Francis XL's succession to 
the throne that the last insurrection in Naples broke 
out; and, when in September of i860 he fled in a 
Spanish ship to Gaeta, his noble wife, a sister of the 



The Unification of Italy Completed 213 

late Empress Eliza of Austria, compelled him during 
the long siege of five months, to take a stand. It was 
she who furnished " all the inspiration, brains, cour- 
age and strength of the defense" against the greatly- 
superior force. She appeared [constantly on the bat- 
tlements to cheer the garrison and direct the opera- 
tions; and, though the weak, cowardly king kept out 
of sight, she made herself everything that he ought 
to have been to the defenders. Europe looked on 
" amazed at this modern mediaeval fighting queen,'' 
a bride of only two months, and hardly older than a 
girl in her teens. After Napoleon had withdrawn his 
fleet, they were finally obliged to surrender, from want 
of food and ammunition and men to fight; but the 
enemy recognized her bravery and accorded the sur- 
vivors all the honors of war. She was afterwards 
made a member of the Russian Order of St. George, 
reserved for those who have displayed conspicuous 
bravery in battle. 

Queen Maria, ex-queen of Naples, has continued 
one of the most romantic figures in Europe up to the 
present time. Soon after their defeat she and Francis 
II. went to Rome and held court in the Famese Palace, 
and afterwards to Paris, the home of exiled sovereigns. 
After that time, until the death of the ex-king in 1894, 
they were often in. great traits in order to supply the 
former ignoble ruler with the means for riotous living, 
in spite of the fact that his wife had earlier inherited 
a fortune from her mother. Ex-queen Maria is an 
expert in boating; and in 1900 received a medal for 
her bravery in saving the lives of three perishing 
sailors whom she had drawn from the surf into her 
own boat just as they were sinking. 

Several of the States of Europe expressed their dis- 



214 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

pleasure at the invasion of the Papal States and the 
annexation of the southern provinces, by removing 
their ambassadors ; and many of the European powers 
met at Warsaw in October of i860 to discuss what 
action should be taken against Piedmont. England, 
however, came to the rescue and took a public stand 
in favor of Italy, Lord Palmerston announcing that 
the Italian people had the sympathy and good-will of 
Great Britain. To further reward the French Em- 
peror for his part in forming the Italian kingdom, 
Monaco was added to a French department made of 
Nice, and in return France acknowledged Victor 
Emanuel as King of Italy. Thus the first part of 
the great drama^ in which Garibaldi had brought free- 
dom to Naples and Sicily, closed. 

When Garibaldi retired to Caprera the lower classes 
were not satisfied, since they had no confidence in the 
new government and were offended in many respects 
by Cavour's general policy, as well as at his late 
attitude against the convents. 

In the Parliament of March of the same year the 
breach between Cavour and Garibaldi was widened 
when the question of the rank of the Garibaldian 
officers came up, and it appeared as though their ser- 
vices had not been appreciated. This aroused Gari- 
baldi, and he rushed to Turin, declaring in the Chamber 
that he would never again shake hands with Cavour. 
The king, much grieved, soon brought about a recon- 
ciliation through a letter which Garibaldi at last con- 
sented to send Cavour on the i8th of May, 1861, just 
before Cavour's death. In the epistle Garibaldi recog- 
nized the latter's *' superior capacity," and said that he 
should gladly await Cavour's " summons to a field of 
action." 



The UniUcation of Italy Completed 215 

Like all new governments, it was not always smooth 
sailing for the Italian " ship of State." The difference 
in the character and training of the people in the 
north and south showed itself in many ways and was 
the occasion of much discord. Victor Emanuel found 
it necessary to put into office thos^ who had held posi- 
tions under the Bourbons, and these were not always 
trustworthy; and, besides, there was a good deal of 
grumbling among the higher classes in Naples, be- 
cause reforms did not go on so fast as the Neapolitans 
desired. Thus many could not see that they were bene- 
fited much by belonging to Piedmont, especially as in 
doing so they had sacrificed Naples as a gay capital. 

Brigandage had now become very common in the 
Abruzzi and the Basilicata. The brigands pretended 
that they belonged to the army of Francis II., calling 
themselves generals and colonels of the king, in order 
that they might find an asylum in the Pope's territory. 
During the summer of 1861 these armed robbers be- 
came so adroit that even Naples was not considered 
a safe place. " They fired at railway trains, sacked 
villages, slaughtered cattle and attacked and slew men 
in their own dwellings, often carrying off wealthy 
prisoners in order to obtain a large ransom. The 
line between the soldier and the brigand and the 
brigand and the common laborer was very closely 
drawn, since the peasant as he worked in his garden 
had a gun in his hand and used it, as became necessary, 
along with his spade." 

Oftentimes the real officers of the King of Naples 
did not hesitate to act with the brigands, and one 
Don Jose Borges, a Spanish adventurer, enlisted with 
them, expecting in truth to restore the Bourbon rule 
in the Two Sicilies. He soon perceived, however, that 



2i6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

it was only lawlessness and plunder that animated the 
gang; and seeing that the king's cause was not ad- 
vanced he determined to leave them. But before he 
could accomplish this they stripped him of everything, 
and, while he was hastening to inform Francis IL 
about the character of his retainers he was shot. King 
Francis IL, while living in Rome after his downfall, 
was in the habit of sending arms as well as officers 
and men to reinforce the most infamous malefactors, 
such as those just spoken of, and others like Ciprian, 
Lagala, etc. Many thousand brigands joined these 
leaders, and one band took the little village of Melfi. 

These, with other difficulties, gradually disappeared 
before the energy and good sense of Victor Emanuel 
IL and his ministers, all classes having learned that 
they could trust the new sovereign; and the great 
progress socially and politically reconciled the Neapoli- 
tans to the loss of what they considered their former 
privileges. 

Two momentous questions still demanded solution, 
Rome and Venice ; for the unspeakable anguish which 
the Venetians felt in being abandoned kept them ever 
on the alert to take advantage of any opportunity to 
gain their freedom. 

The activity of Count Cavour during the year i860, 
after he again accepted the premiership, was simply 
marvelous, and the expenditure of nervous force no 
doubt hastened his death. His work throughout 
evinced the kindness of his heart and exhibited his 
purpose to follow right and justice. He at one time 
wrote to the guardian of the seal, *' The statesman who 
is not ready to sacrifice even his good name for his 
country is not worthy to govern his peers." Again 
he writes : " My experience of thirteen years con- 



The Unification of Italy Completed 2iy 

vinces me that an honest, energetic ministry, which does 
not fear the press, or let itself be influenced by extreme 
parties, has much to gain from parliamentary contests 
and debates. I would not betray my trust or deny the 
principles of my life. I am the son of Liberty and owe 
her all that I am. If a veil is to be placed over her 
statue, it will not be I who do it." 

No one suffered more than Cavour from unbridled 
license of the press ; yet he persistently refused to have 
it muzzled. He abolished the duties according to his 
doctrine of free trade, while at the same time as Minis- 
ter of Finance this compelled him to see the revenues 
decreasing. Notwithstanding his liberal tendencies, he 
favored a monarchy rather than a republic for Italy; 
yet, though noble himself, he held birth and position 
lightly. 

The Papal government was now rapidly crumbling 
to pieces, and all saw that the first attack of the Italian 
troops would wind up the temporal power of the Pope. 
While the Bourbon army was still in the field, Cavour 
spoke in the Chamber on the necessity of Rome be- 
coming the capital of Italy. He showed that it held 
within itself all the elements that the chief city of a 
great State needed; and in another speech made in 
l86i he closed by saying that everything pointed to 
Rome, with its renown of twenty-five centuries, as the 
glorious capital. With regard to the Church, he said, 
that liberty, being favorable to the development of 
genuine religion, the Church would lose nothing by 
the amalgamation of Rome and Italy, and that the Holy 
Father would sacrifice nothing by giving up his tem- 
poral power ; on the other hand he would gain greater 
liberty than that which he had sought from the Catho- 
lic powers and had never been able to gain from 



2i8 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

" concordats." He also said that all enlightened 
Catholics must see that His Holiness would be able 
to exercise the duties of his office more freely and in- 
dependently, supported by the affection of millions of 
the Italian people than by twenty-five thousand bayo- 
nets. Near the close of his speech, the last he ever 
made in the Chamber, he said : '' All the world knows 
how to govern by martial law ; I would rule by means 
of liberty " ; and then he gave utterance to the same 
words which a short time after were on his lips in 
death: ''Libera Chiesa in libero Stato'' (A free 
Church in a free State). 

Cavour's strength had gradually failed under the 
long strain incident to the changes in the government 
of Italy. On the eve of the 2d of June, the day ap- 
pointed and still kept by the government as a national 
holiday in commemoration of the accomplishment of 
Italian unity, Cavour returned home tired and worn, 
and was soon after taken dangerously ill. The court- 
yard of his palace was continually thronged with a 
sympathizing crowd until the small hours of the night, 
while the telegraph was kept busy sending medical 
bulletins all over Europe. 

In his delirium Cavour often called for his private 
secretary, saying to his physician : " Cure me at once ; 
my time is precious ; for I have all Italy on my shoul- 
ders." He was very anxious about the southern 
States, which then presented the same vexing questions 
as at the present time. He said to the king, who was 
almost constantly with him in his last sickness : " The 
north is complete, there are no longer Lombards, 
Piedmontese or Tuscans, we are all Italians ; but alas, 
there are still Neapolitans. Many of them are very 
corrupt, poor fellows, but it is not their fault; they 



The Unification of Italy Completed 219 

must be purged again and again." This was very 
significant and intelligible to those who, since 1861, 
have witnessed the patience required to bring order out 
of chaos in this section. Cavour then said : " In twenty- 
years the Kingdom of Naples will contain the richest 
provinces in Italy." In delirium he went on : " Gari- 
baldi is a gentleman. I wish him well. He rushed to 
the aid of Rome and Venice; but that donkey of a 
Ferdinando, [meaning Francis IL], his is such a cor- 
rupt government that Providence cannot permit it to be 
restored. Moral influence must be introduced and the 
youth educated. They covet badges of honor. If they 
are patriotic and honest, I will buy their badges for 
them and forward their promotion," etc. 

Cavour died in June, 1861, and Victor Emanuel 
(desired that he should be buried in the cemetery of 
the Royal House of Savoy in the Superga, but the great 
statesman, in accordance with his own request, was 
interred in his family tomb at Santena in the village 
of Chieri. 

In personal appearance Cavour was of medium 
stature and rather stout. He had a broad forehead and 
wore glasses. He was quick and energetic in his 
movements, and, although sometimes his smile was 
ironical, his countenance as a whole was expressive of 
benignity. Simple in his manners, but dignified in his 
bearing, he would have been recognized anywhere as a 
country gentleman familiar with court usage. He 
believed in his mission to save Italy ; and even though 
he often changed his tactics, he never for a moment 
lost sight of the objective point. He was clear in his 
statements, but wholly lacked the ideality and sentiment 
of such enthusiasts as Mazzini. 

There had been differences of opinion between the 



220 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

two great men who worked together, but such were 
soon settled, Cavour acknowledging that Victor 
Emanuel alone could unite Italy; while the king de- 
clared that the settlement of political differences in 
Piedmont was due to the great statesman. Indeed, one 
of Victor Emanuel's important sen-ices to Italy was 
his recognition of Cavour's wonderful genius, shown 
in giving him absolute freedom of action without 
reference to i>ersonal preferences. 

Time has proved how high Cavour ranks in the role 
of Europe's statesmen ; and the development of Italian 
history since i860 corroborates the common verdict 
that " no statesman ever so wisely directed the desti- 
nies of any nation on the road to constitutional Uberty." 
Cavour was hardly second in diplomacy to Bismarck, 
whom he greatly resembled; and in strength and 
straightforwardness he had no equaL Many con- 
temporaries wrote eulc^stic notices of his character 
after his death, all agreeing that he would receive 
eternal honors from posterity, and that his name would 
live as long as the deeds of heroes are recorded in 
history ; and it is since apparent to all that his memory 
is every year becoming more and more imperishable. 



Venice Given up by Austria 221 



CHAPTER XV 

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF ITALY. — CAPITAL REMOVED 
FROM TURIN TO FLORENCE. — ALLIANCE WITH PRUS- 
SIA. — PRUSSIAN ARMY VICTORIOUS AT KONIGGRATZ. — 
AUSTRIA GIVES UP VENICE. — ITALIAN ARMY DE- 
FEATED AT CUSTOZA^ ETC. — END OF SEPTEMBER CON- 
VENTION. — POPE YIELDS TO SUPERIOR FORCE AND 
GIVES UP TEMPORAL POWER. — THE PAPAL STATES 
AMALGAMATED, 

1861—1870 a:d. 

AT the death of Cavour the consolidation of Italy 
Lhad in reality been accomplished. Such able 
statesmen as Ricasoli, Minghetti, Ratazzi, Farini, La 
Marmora, Lanza and Crispi, and others who succeeded 
him, tried to carry out his policy, but none of them 
approached him in coolness of judgment and thorough- 
ness of execution. 

The last struggle for Italian liberty took place in 
Rome, where the early history of Italy began. Ricasoli 
formed a conservative government, and Ratazzi led 
the opposition, while Garibaldi swore never to rest 
until Rome and Venice were free ; and, together with 
Mazzini, he was ready for any act which would bring 
about the desired results the most speedily. These two 
men both wanted to take from the Pope his spiritual 
as well as his temporal power, and to confiscate all the 
property of the Church. It was even suspected that 
they were opposed to a constitutional monarchy, and 
would have been glad to dethrone Victor Emanuel and 



222 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

establish a radical democracy. Although Ratazzi, the 
former minister of Charles Albert, did not wholly 
agree with Garibaldi, his party at times allied them- 
selves with the Garibaldians, thinking that the State 
would grant a subsidy for a speedy expedition to gain 
Venetia. When, however, Ratazzi succeeded Ricasoli 
as minister, he changed his policy, in the hope that, by 
taking a more conservative course like Cavour, he 
would run no risk in the event of failure and receive 
the benefits of success in case of a prosperous issue. 
But he was not so tactful as Cavour had been in his 
dealings with Napoleon. 

In 1862 Garibaldi raised a volunteer army of twenty- 
five hundred men. Napoleon, regarding this as a men- 
ace, ordered Ratazzi to stop him; and the latter, in 
order to conciliate Napoleon, sent out against Gari- 
baldi government troops under Cialdini, who was de- 
feated by the volunteers at Reggio on the 28th of Sep- 
tember, 1862; but the next day Garibaldi in turn was 
beaten at Asprimonte by General Pallavincini. Al- 
though there were only a few shots fired. Garibaldi 
was wounded and carried to Spezia as a prisoner. 
Ratazzi was blamed for his cowardice in allowing 
Garibaldi to be sacrificed, and also in permitting the 
French garrison to still be kept in Rome. The whole 
disturbance unearthed so many skeletons that Ratazzi 
was obliged to retire from office in 1863, and Garibaldi 
was allowed to go back to Caprera. 

The next year Garibaldi went to London for the 
purpose of raising money to carry on the war against 
Austria. Although England refrained from giving 
him any material support, she and all Europe were 
aroused in favor of Italian unity. Thus, though this 
expedition had seemingly ended in failure, like all of 



Venice Given up by Austria 223 

Garibaldi's insurrections it had spurred on the people 
to more earnest effort to bring Rome and Venice into 
the Italian kingdom ; and the ministers of Victor 
Emanuel, seeing that the foreign powers were in sym- 
pathy with them, felt encouraged to press on to the 
completion of the union and freedom of Italy. 

The Italian people were indignant on account of the 
continuance of French troops in Rome, and accord- 
ingly Napoleon and Victor Emanuel in 1864 agreed to 
what was called the " September Convention." By its 
terms, the French garrison was gradually to be re- 
moved so that the Pope might have a chance to sur- 
round himself with a defensive force before the end 
of two years, when the French were to withdraw from 
Rome altogether. In exchange for these concessions, 
Victor Emanuel promised to make no attack on the 
Pope's territory, and the people were to give up the 
idea of Rome for a capital. 

It was now generally understood that the whole 
Italian peninsula, including the majority of the in- 
habitants of the Papal States, desired that all Italy 
should be united with Rome for its capital. Yet it 
was thought to be good policy to make it appear that 
this project was abandoned; and accordingly the seat 
of government was removed from Turin to Florence 
in 1865, at the time of the celebration attending the 
sixth centennial anniversary of Dante's birth. The 
people of Turin had been quite reconciled to the idea 
of giving up their prestige to Rome; but now, when 
they saw that the capital was taken away from them, 
to be given to Florence, riots broke out. 

It was Cavour who in 1861 had first seriously con- 
sidered an alliance with Prussia. La Marmora was 
at that time sent to pay his respects to King William I. 



224 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

on his ascension to the throne in the January of that 
year, and in the interview he referred to the similarity 
of the early history of Piedmont and Prussia, men- 
tioning that the Italians regarded His Majesty as 
their friend and benefactor. Afterwards when the 
early bitterness between Prussia and Austria began 
to be apparent. Prince Bismarck broached the subject 
of an alliance to La Marmora, who was prime minis- 
ter; and thus on the 8th of April, 1866, a compact was 
made between Italy and Prussia, pledging mutual sup- 
port in case of war against Austria. The latter, when 
she found herself so embroiled, offered through France 
to give Venetia back to Italy, if Victor Emanuel would 
annul his contract with Prussia. Having pledged him- 
self, however, the latter refused to be disloyal, and the 
King of Prussia in turn agreed not to yield in case 
of war, until Austria should give up to the Italians 
all that part of Venetia which did not include the 
city of Venice and the quadrilateral formed of the 
fortresses of Verona, Vincenza, Peschiera and Mantua. 
On the 20th of June, 1866, war having been de- 
clared against Austria, La Marmora took command of 
the army and Garibaldi came over from Caprera to 
lead twenty battalions of volunteers. At first it was 
thought that Garibaldi might be employed success- 
fully to stir up the populace of Dalmatia, and then to 
force an encounter with the Austrian troops in the 
direction of Vienna; but, fearing Garibaldi's natural 
impetuosity the king only dared to send this erratic 
revolutionist into the Tyrol, while General Cialdini 
drew up his large force on the lower Po. The Aus- 
trians, although far outnumbered, were strongly forti- 
fied in the quadrilateral, under Archduke Albert. On 
the 24th the Italians and Austrians met on the heights 



Venice Given up by Austria 225 

of Custoza, that battle-ground formerly so fatal to 
Charles Albert. 

Although La Marmora showed great courage, he 
did not possess the happiest qualities of a commander- 
in-chief. There were many personal deeds of valor 
during the battle, but no unanimity of purpose was 
shown; and no doubt the moral effect of the former 
disastrous defeat at Custoza in 1848 was depressing 
to the soldiers. In any case, the disappointment to 
the Italians, when their army was obliged to retreat 
instead of achieving the glorious victory expected, was 
most overwhelming. Meanwhile Garibaldi, in the 
Tyrol, was struggling against fearful odds and finally 
was beaten and wounded at Monte Suello. 

In Germany, however, the Austrians had been de- 
feated by the Prussians at Sadowa; and on the 3d of 
July they again made the offer to Victor Emanuel to 
give up Venetia. The king refused to agree to such 
dishonorable terms, and the Italians still determined 
to keep on fighting. Garibaldi, in view of this, pene- 
trated without difficulty as far as Trent, while Cialdini 
continued on his way to Venetia. Here, after the de- 
cisive battle of the 226. of July, 1866, at Koniggratz, 
an armistice was concluded between Prussia and 
Austria without waiting to confer with Italy. 

In the meantime the Italian fleet had been defeated 
on the 20th by the Austrians at Lissa, an island on the 
Adriatic coast. Their admiral, Persano, was removed 
on account of inefficiency, since Italy, being proud of 
her navy, had expected a great and victorious sea- 
fight. 

At the Peace of Prague, on August 23, 1866, Aus- 
tria was obliged to give up Venetia to Napoleon III., 
who yielded it practically entire, including Venice and 



226 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the fortresses on the frontier, to Victor Emanuel, after 
the people had ratified it by a vote. The Iron Crown 
of Lombardy, also, which had been taken in 1859 and 
carried to Vienna, now had to be given up. Austria 
kept for herself Istria and Aquileia and other primi- 
tive cities of Venetia on the Dalmatian coast. Although 
the Italians had gained little personal glory, their long- 
wished-for purpose was attained; and, on the 7th of 
November when Victor Emanuel entered Venice, the 
populace raised a jubilant shout at being at last free 
from foreign servitude, and cried simultaneously: 
" Long live the King ! Long live the King ! " 

After seventeen years of French rule, in accord- 
ance with the September Convention, the French troops 
were withdrawn from Rome at the end of 1866, and 
the Pope was left to his own resources. The repub- 
licans under Mazzini wished to attack the city, while 
Ratazzi followed the same prudent course as in 1862. 
Notwithstanding the king had announced that he 
would try to bring the two parties to an agre€ment, 
Garibaldi as usual made an effort to rouse the citizens 
in several districts; and everything was ready for an 
uprising. But on the 3d of September the Italian 
government was obliged, on account of complications 
w^ith Napoleon, still a defender of the Pope, to put 
Garibaldi under guard in Caprera. This arrest was 
only a farce, however, for in spite of it the revolu- 
tionists went right ahead and penetrated into the Papal 
States. 

Louis Napoleon now considered that the September 
Convention had been violated, and on the i6th of Octo- 
ber, 1867, sent a fleet from Toulon to rescue the Pope. 
This was just after the time that Garibaldi had es- 
caped from Caprera in a little fishing-boat and had 



Venice Given up by Austria 227 

succeeded in reaching Tuscany without being way- 
laid. He gained a victory at Monte Rotondo on the 
26th of October, and the king was obHged again to 
promise that he would stop the advance of the volun- 
teers. But there were still further attempts on the 
part of Garibaldi, which became abortive, and he was 
sent back to Caprera. During this time Ratazzi, find- 
ing that affairs were getting too complicated, again 
resigned. 

Even though the expedition of 1867 had failed, 
Garibaldi had as usual accomplished his purpose in 
further arousing the people and stimulating the sym- 
pathies of the Liberal party in Europe, especially in 
England. Notwithstanding the French government 
said that Italy could never have possession of Rome, 
Giovanni Lanza, speaker of the Italian Chamber, de- 
clared in December, 1867, that Rome " through the 
very nature of things " must finally be made the capi- 
tal of Italy. Accordingly, when Napoleon III. sought 
Italy's alliance in 1869 against Prussia, the government 
was ready to agree to it on condition that Rome should 
be at once evacuated ; but the Church party influenced 
Napoleon not to listen to the terms and it had to be 
given up. 

After the first defeat in 1870 Napoleon again asked 
help from Victor Emanuel; but there was a general 
outcry in Italy against the French; and, making the 
alliance of 1866 with Prussia an excuse, Italy took a 
neutral stand. 

On the 8th of August, the French army being needed 
to help carry on the war at home, it left Rome and 
sailed from Civita Vecchia. Still Pope Pius IX. 
would not go, and the government under Victor Eman- 
uel was much alarmed lest the republicans, who 



228 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

were becoming more violent every day, should molest 
His Holiness, especially since Mazzini was urging 
them to more strenuous effort. It now looked as if, 
unless the king moved at once, the revolutionists 
would rise en masse and engulf the whole Italian gov- 
ernment; and if Rome were taken without the author- 
ity of the king, it would be the capital of the re- 
public of Italy, and unity as a nation would without 
doubt be lost. Besides, the king still felt himself 
bound by the September Convention ; and accordingly 
he had Mazzini seized and confined at Gaeta; not be- 
cause his untiring efforts were unappreciated, but be- 
cause his violent methods would have overturned the 
monarchy. 

On the 24th of August, 1870, Prince Jerome Bona- 
parte, the king's son-in-law, arrived in Florence to 
push matters, agreeing to let the Roman question 
alone. It was too late, however, for any alliance, since 
it was an established fact that Louis Napoleon had no 
further power to prevent them from absorbing the 
Papal States. 

After the victory of Sedan a republic was pro- 
claimed in France on the 4th of September, 1870; and 
the foreign minister of the new French republic de- 
clared the September Convention, which had lasted 
six years, at an end. The agitation in Italy was now 
at a white heat, and the newspapers were full of vehe- 
ment articles entitled " To Rome," which declared that 
the Pope must now yield his temporal power. Meet- 
ings followed in all the principal cities of Italy de- 
manding Rome as the capital of Italy, and the seizure 
of the Papal States. The excitement was so great 
that no ministry, and not even the monarchy itself, 
could resist the will of the people. 



Venice Given up by Austria 229 

Victor Emanuel, who saw that immediate action 
must be taken, wrote a letter to Pius IX., begging him 
at last to give up the temporal power. The Pontiff 
replied to this that he would do so only under compul- 
sion. The court at Florence also sent a respectful 
letter to the Holy Father, saying that the Italian gov- 
ernment " regarded his spiritual office with the pro- 
foundest reverence ; but that the exigencies of the times 
demanded the downfall of his temporal power, and that 
it was hoped he would yield amicably." 

The Pope flatly refused in a concise letter read be- 
fore a formal audience given his ambassador in Flor- 
ence on the loth of September, 1870, and the next 
day, Sunday, September 11, the troops of Victor 
Emanuel entered the States of the Church at three 
different points. General Cadorna, setting out from 
Turin for Rome soon after stationed his forces at 
Porta Pia on the 19th. A second division proceeded 
from Orvieto to Civita Vecchia under General Bixio, 
while a third under General Angioletti invaded the 
Papal States by the way of Frosinone and Anagni. 
The Pope commanded, that since any resistance would 
be useless, there should be only a sufficient exhibition 
of force to prove to the world that his realms were 
taken away from him by military violence. 

At half-past eight on the 20th of September, 1870, 
a breach was made in the Porta Pia, at half-past nine 
it was leveled to the ground, and at ten o'clock a part 
of General Cadorna's army entered Rome and took pos- 
session. The temporal power of the Pope had lasted 
eleven centuries, ever since Pepin the Short ceded the 
territory to Pope Stephen in return for the coronation 
of himself and his sons. 

Although Pius IX» had long seen that his temporal 



230 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

power hung by a thread, he was obhged, in order to 
retain his prestige with the CathoHc Church, to seem 
to yield only under the greatest pressure, and to ap- 
pear in the role of a martyr shut up as a prisoner in 
his own domain. The Popes have done this ever since, 
but there never has been the slightest effort on the part 
of their people to change the environment or separate 
them from the dignified and luxurious life they have 
there enjoyed without intermission. 

The Palace of the Caesars, the Forum, and the most 
of the ruined monuments of Ancient Rome, besides 
the business and residence portions, are on the left 
bank of the Tiber ; while on the right is the " Leonine 
City," consisting of the Vatican and St. Peter's and 
" nearly all the artistic wealth which the Catholic 
Church has accumulated during a period of a thou- 
sand years," and especially during the reign of Pope 
Leo X., the illustrious pontiff from whom the Leonine 
City is named. 

In order that these environs of the Pope might not 
be disturbed, a regiment of Italian troops were sta- 
tioned in the gardens of the Vatican to protect His 
Holiness. On the 2d of October, 1870, by a unanimous 
vote, the people of Rome cast off all temporal alle- 
giance to the Pope, and became the subjects of the 
King of united Italy. The clerical party would not 
vote, declaring that " they were overawed by sixty 
thousand bayonets and that any appeal to the ballot- 
box was a farce." 

In the September previous to this the Italian govern- 
ment issued a manifesto declaring that, although the 
political authority of the Pope had been superseded, the 
pontiff should still be free to exercise his ecclesiastical 
functions. It was also agreed that besides supporting 



Venice Given up by Austria 231 

the Pope, Italy would assume the debts hitherto con- 
tracted by the Papal States. 

Later, in 1871, by the "Bill of Papal Guarantees," 
enacted at Florence, the person of the Pope was de- 
clared sacred and inviolable, any offense against him 
being punishable in the same way as though perpe- 
trated against the king. He was allowed as many 
guards as he thought necessary to protect his palace 
and person, his annual allowance being fixed at three 
million two hundred and twenty-five thousand liras, 
free from all taxation. But it is said that his annual sti- 
pend has never, in all the years since, been touched by 
the Papal government. The Pope was to remain in 
possession of the Vatican with its libraries and art gal- 
leries, the Lateran, the Villa of Castel Gondolfo, and 
the Church of San Maria Maggiore. His Holiness 
was left free to correspond with the bishops and the 
whole Catholic world without interference on the part 
of the Italian Kingdom. Postal and telegraph ser- 
vice was attached to each of his palaces for the private 
use of his government, and all Papal schools, univer- 
sities, and colleges in Rome and the suburban dioceses 
were entirely under his control; and no official or 
other government agent was to be allowed to enter 
any of the Pope's dominions without His Holiness' 
permission. Thus the government exhibited all the 
magnanimity that a self-reliant State, sure of its posi- 
tion, could show to a great but subjected power. 

One faction, the party of the Left, were opposed 
to every concession ; but, notwithstanding this, the priv- 
ilege of nominating and appointing officers in the 
Church was given to His Holiness on condition that 
ItaHan subjects should be chosen; and bishops were 
exempted from taking the oath of allegiance to the 



232 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

king. Bills were passed concerning Church property, 
religious corporations, convents, monasteries and their 
superiors, so as to avoid interference with the Pope's 
peculiar position. The heads of these institutions were 
given an annuity from the State, and while the incum- 
bents lived, apartments were left them in the houses 
where they had so long resided. 

The new parliament in Florence opened on the 5th 
of December, 1870. In his speech at this time Victor 
Emanuel said : " When Rome is finally made the 
capital of Italy I shall have fulfilled my promise 
to my people and shall have finished the enterprise 
which was begun by my sainted and heroic father 
twenty-three years ago. My heart thrills both as a 
monarch and a son as I salute all the representatives 
of our united country for the first time and say : 'Italy 
is free and united ; it only remains for us to make her 
great, happy and prosperous/ ^' 




o 

H 

O 

H 
an 
< 
Q 



Victor Emanuel IL and King Humbert 233 



CHAPTER XVI 

VICTOR EMANUEL ENTERS ROME AS KING OF UNITED 
ITALY. — HE ADMINISTERS AFFAIRS OF THE GOVERN- 
MENT FAITHFULLY. DEATH OF MANY OF ITALY's 

EMINENT MEN. — ^VICTOR EMANUEL DIES. — ^DEATH OF 
POPE PIUS. POPE LEO XIII. — REIGN OF KING HUM- 
BERT. ^DEATH OF GARIBALDI. SUCCEEDING EVENTS 

AND CHANGES. 

1870—1899 A.D. 

VICTOR EMANUEL showed great emotion when 
the envoys came to Florence in the December of 
1870 to announce to him officially, that by a unanimous 
vote of the people, Rome had been made the capital 
of united Italy. The king responded in a speech, 
saying that at last the great work of reconstructing the 
State had been achieved, and that " the name of Rome, 
the grandest ever uttered by man, was joined to that 
of Italy, the name dearest to his heart." In proclaim- 
ing the unity of Italy from the Adriatic to the Apen- 
nines and from the north to the extreme south, he 
said that he should remain true to the liberty guaran- 
teed to the Church and the legitimate independence of 
the Pope. 

The people, rejoicing from one end of Italy to the 
other, felt that the ashes of Cavour in Santena must 
have stirred in the tomb, as the deputation from Rome 
crowned his monument with an imperishable memorial, 
in recognition of the nation's gratitude for a life spent 
in the nation's service, culminating in the regeneration 
of the State. 



234 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

After Victor Emanuel II. took up his residence in the 
Quirinal Palace, desirous of making any sacrifice con- 
sistent with the welfare of united Italy, he sent a mes- 
sage to Pope Pius IX., in which he expressed his per- 
sonal devotion to the Church and congratulated His 
Holiness on having held his sacred office more than 
twenty-five years, a longer space of time than legen- 
dary history assigns to St. Peter. It was a great disap- 
pointment that Pius IX. denied an audience to the 
ambassador and disdained other similar attentions 
from the Quirinal. 

From the 2d of July, 1871, the time when the king 
established his court at Rome, the Chamber of Depu- 
ties occupied the Monte Citorio Palace, while the 
Senate took possession of the Madama Palace. 

From that era there has been no considerable inter- 
ruption in the public peace ; but although the relation 
of Italy with foreign affairs involves many problems 
which require great tact, it has been in the control of 
domestic concerns that the most numerous difficulties 
have been found. The lack of previous training in 
carrying on a constitutional government, the apathy 
and ignorance of the people, so long held down by 
tyranny, and the subtle influence of the Papal party 
over the people, has made the business of governing 
united Italy very perplexing. 

Victor Emanuel continued to carry on the affairs of 
State with great fairness to the end. He adopted what- 
ever measures his ministers, selected by a vote of Par- 
liament, approved; and his great success was due to 
his wisdom and firmness in adhering to constitutional 
forms. In opening the first Parliament he said: 
" The w^ork to which we have consecrated our lives is 
completed. Italy is restored after long and self-sacri- 



Victor Emanuel IL and King Humbert 235 

ficing effort. Everything speaks to us, not only of past 
greatness, but of future duties, and in the joy of the 
occasion we must not forget our responsibiUties. Re- 
generated by liberty, may we seek in freedom and 
order the secret of strength, and endeavor to reconcile 
Church and State." 

The government now took up the management of 
public instruction, and, though they confined themselves 
to teaching ethics in the elementary schools, in 1874 
there was unrestricted religious freedom given to those 
private and ecclesiastical schools and to the monastic 
institutions which until recently had been the only 
source of learning open to the Italian youth. Yet the 
Church was not satisfied with the provision. 

In order to show their gratitude, affection and ap- 
preciation, the people celebrated on March 23, 1874, 
the twenty-fifth anniversary of Victor Emanuel's 
accession to the throne, his sovereignty at that time 
having extended over little more than Sardinia and 
Piedmont. 

The next year Garibaldi's wise and patriotic course 
in Parliament surprised all who had feared that there 
would be some disturbance; and the government was 
more firmly established by his attitude. 

The attention of the State was drawn more and 
more to the destitution in Sicily and the south, where 
the industries had been neglected and the people were 
indifferent to progress. The railroad system through- 
out Italy was but poorly sustained, Piedmont, Ligu- 
ria, Lombard and Tuscany, all together in 1859 sup- 
porting not much more than a thousand miles of rail- 
road. In the Neapolitan provinces, with an area equal 
to the combined territory just mentioned, there were 
only one hundred and fourteen miles; while in Sicily, 



^^6 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

which is as large as Piedmont, no railway existed at 
all, and the ordinary roads, and postal and telegraphic 
service were correspondingly inferior. 

But as early as the end of 187 1 there had been nearly 
six thousand additional miles of railway laid, of the 
most difficult construction. That year the Mont Cenis 
tunnel between France and Italy was completed; and 
after that the two largest tunnels in Europe were built, 
the Arlberg, in the Austrian Tyrol, and the St. Gott- 
hard, the latter having been the principal route from 
Switzerland to Italy. 

Meanwhile the great men whose wisdom had accom- 
plished the consolidation of Italy had passed away one 
after the other. Mazzini had lingered at death's door 
for a long time in exile at Lugano in Switzerland, but 
at la^t he was permitted to die in Pisa, a beloved city, 
in the midst of loving companionship. He was fol- 
lowed to the grave by a vast throng, who felt that he 
had ennobled their patriotism. His remains were placed 
in the Campo Santo in Genoa. The London Times had 
warned the Emperor of France, at the time of the 
siege of Rome, that he had to contend not with a 
broken-hearted exile, but, " with the Mazzini in every 
Italian breast." The truth of this admonition now be- 
came apparent ; for, although " he had been hunted like 
a felon while living," the Italian Assembly and officers 
of rank, and the whole European press, now delighted 
to crown his grave with laurel. The fact that Mazzini 
preferred cross roads to beaten tracks in reaching the 
goal was soon forgotten by posterity in their gratitude 
for the part he took in bringing about the liberation of 
Italy. 

Mazzini had among his friends the great and 
learned; but during the many years of his exile, spent 



Victor Emanuel II. and King Humbert 22^7 

mainly in London, he cultivated, for the most part, 
men and women devoted to Hberty. The great patriot 
while Hving in London did much to ameHorate the 
condition of his countrymen by starting free and 
benevolent schools for the Italian youth and children, 
besides performing many other charitable deeds. 

At the age of sixteen, while walking in the streets 
of Genoa with his mother, Mazzini beheld some 
bruised and wounded Piedmontese, revolters from 
Austrian oppression; and in an instant he became a 
full-fledged patriot. Soon after this he was confined 
in prison for writing patriotic articles for the *' Antolo- 
gia of Florence." The governor of Genoa, when ques- 
tioned by his father as to the reason of his imprison- 
ment, replied: "Your son is a young man of talent, 
given to solitary walks, and silent as to the subject of 
his meditations; and the government is not fond of 
such young men, the theme of whose musings is un- 
known to us.'' This was the Italy to which Mazzini 
was born — a country which threw its young thinkers 
into dungeons. 

Urbano Ratazzi was among the statesmen who died 
during the early years of the new regime. After 
Cavour's death the Conservatives, or party of the 
Right, as they were called, held the power in the 
government; but when this party became unpopular 
on account of many mistakes and its unwise fiscal 
policy, the opposition was in the majority, and accord- 
ing to custom it remained with Depretis, the leader of 
the Left, to form a new ministry. Their policy proved 
so popular, and in the next election the Left had so 
overpowering a majority, that compromises had to be 
made in order to avoid an outbreak. 

On the 5th of January, 1878, General Alphonso la 



238 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Marmora breathed his last at Florence, the city of his 
adoption; and on the 9th Victor Emanuel also passed 
away. The king was a loyal Catholic still, and when 
he saw his end approaching he desired to receive the 
Holy Communion; but his private chaplain did not 
dare to administer the sacrament to an excommuni- 
cated person until he had permission from the Pope. 
His Holiness, notwithstanding that he had so fre- 
quently stigmatized Victor Emanuel as a " sacrilegious 
usurper," sent a message, regretting that his own feeble 
condition did not permit him to leave the Vatican to 
solemnize in person the " last communion " at the 
Quirinal. 

During his reign of eight years Victor Emanuel 
II. had preserved, amidst the splendor of his fashion- 
able court, the simple tastes of his early life. His were 
the ways of the people, and nothing gave him such 
genuine pleasure as associating with them on equal 
terms. It was no uncommon experience for him to 
sit down to the villagers' humble table and eat bread 
and cheese at their family board. 

A story is told of a countryman who, when unsuc- 
cessfully trying to lift his wagon out of the mire, saw 
a strong, burly stranger passing and said : ^' I should 
think you might lend a hand in lifting this wagon.'' 
*' Certainly," the stranger replied, as he put his shoulder 
to the wheel, and lifted the vehicle onto level ground. 
At this moment a traveler coming along made a 
humble obeisance, and the rustic, greatly humiliated, 
discovered that his friend in need had been the King of 
Italy. 

Victor Emanuel first won the confidence of the 
Italian nation when, soon after Charles Albert's abdi- 
cation, he induced Radetsky to allow the Sardinian 



Victor Emanuel 11. and King Humbert 239 

Constitution to stand, at a time when every other 
vestige of representative government in Italy was 
swept away. 

The king's death excited the most profound dem- 
onstrations of respect and sorrow throughout the 
country. We read to-day over his tomb in the Pan- 
theon, where he was then buried, the famiUar words: 
" To the Father of His Country." 

Every year up to the time of King Humbert's death, 
at a very late hour on the 9th of January, a somber 
mourning cortege passed through the streets of Rome 
from the Quirinal to the Pantheon, where the retinue 
remained for several hours in private devotion before 
Victor Emanuel's tomb, the whole day being given up 
to general memorial services. During the entire week 
thousands of the populace and many strangers visited 
this renowned structure, which was shrouded in gloom. 
The large opening in the dome was enveloped in 
mourning draperies and the black hangings about the 
tomb of him who devoted his life to the interests of 
Italy were decked with stars of pearl; while on the 
other hand Raphael's tomb and the monuments of other 
famous Italians were concealed. 

The death of the king was followed a few weeks 
later, on the 7th of February, 1878, by that of Pope 
Pius IX. The latter had also done much for the con- 
solidation of Italy at the dawn of Italian independence, 
by supporting the national movement in the beginning 
of his reign; while his subsequent withdrawal made 
the accomplishment of the task easier; since otherwise 
hampering concessions with reference to his temporal 
sovereignity, as well as with respect to the rights of 
the Church, would have been obligatory. 

Pope Pius IX.'s body lay in state three days in the 



240 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Church of St. Peter's, on a rich cover of crimson, sur- 
rounded by twelve golden candlesticks. It was so 
placed that all the faithful could gather around and 
kiss his feet. 

In the conclave which was held immediately after, 
sixty-one cardinals were present; and after a session 
of thirty-six hours inside closed doors, Cardinal Gioa- 
chino Pecci, then sixty-eight years of age, was chosen. 
He took the title of Leo XIIL, the coronation cere- 
monies taking place on March 3, 1878. 

Leo XIII. for a time followed closely in the foot- 
steps of Pius IX., though he showed himself a much 
broader ecclesiastic. For many years he supported the 
illusion that temporal power would be restored, since 
he held that otherwise spiritual authority could not be 
freely maintained. At the same time he kept before 
the Catholic world the idea that the Pope was being 
kept a prisoner in the Vatican. Notwithstanding this, 
the Pope's subjects in Italy from the first appeared 
satisfied with the new regime. 

The Prince of Piedmont, the eldest son of Victor 
Emanuel, succeeded to the throne as Humbert I. In 
the course of his memorable speech on the occasion of 
his taking the oath, he said : " The only solace left to 
us is to prove worthy of the departed, I, by following 
in his footsteps and you by imitating his civic virtues ; 
and I shall not forget the precepts my father was 
always anxious to impress upon me, that a religious 
observance of Italy's liberal institutions is the surest 
safeguard against all peril. That has been the strength 
of my House; that shall be my strength also." 

With Victor Emanuel the violent period of the rapid 
unification of Italy closed, that era of " tragic con- 
spiracies, bold diplomacy, and bloody battles " ; with 




Pope Leo XIII. 



Victor Emanuel IL and King Humbert 241 

Humbert there opened an epoch of pacific labor which 
was to make the ItaHan union more rich, prosperous 
and compact; and the people more capable of under- 
standing their country's needs. 

King Humbert was born the 14th of March, 1844, 
his mother being Mary Adelaide of Ranieri. His 
various prsenomina were sufficient to stifle the growth 
of any small boy, though they seem not to have affected 
him physically or morally. They were Humbert 
Ranieri Charles Emanuel John Maria Ferdinand 
Eugene. He remained under the care of his mother 
until she died, when he was ten years old, and then he 
was put under Giuseppe Rossi for military training. 
As is usual in the case of royalty, he held a military 
rank from childhood, but it was only after rigorous 
training that he gained his officer's epaulets. At four- 
teen, in March, 1848, he became captain of the 3d 
Regiment of Infantry. In 1859 he was with his father 
at the Battle of Magenta, where he was received with 
such enthusiasm that he gained the name of the " gal- 
lant Humbert " ; and great honors were conferred 
upon him by his countrymen in memory of his noble 
bravery. Humbert and Amadeus both took part in 
the Austrian struggle of 1866 at Custoza, the former 
receiving a medal for valor. 

Humbert was at first engaged to an Austrian 
duchess, and bridal presents had been exchanged, 
when the charming young lady was burned to death by 
her silken scarf igniting from a lighted cigarette. 
Soon after this he was affianced, by his father, to his 
cousin, Margherita, daughter of the Duke of Genoa. 
She is said to have been the most beautiful woman in 
Italy and was afterwards called the '' Pearl of Savoy." 
The wedding festivities were celebrated at Turin on 



242 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the 22d of April, 1868, and were very brilliant. Victor 
Emanuel, Prince of Naples, now king, was born the 
next year. 

Victor Emanuel II. had been careless in his ex- 
penses, and at the time of his death the leader of the 
Left proposed that his debts should be canceled by 
the nation ; but Humbert replied resolutely : " I must 
pay all my father's obligations." He was able to 
accomplish this only through great economy in his 
royal household. 

The exhibition of feeling throughout the peninsula 
at the time of King Humbert's accession to the throne 
proved that, though slowly, the critical point had been 
reached and safely passed, and that the enduring 
strength of the government was cemented by the affec- 
tion of the people. 

At first the Italian government simply sought to 
keep up friendly relations with all nations; but at the 
Berlin Congress in 1878 it became apparent that it was 
for Italy's interest to no longer abstain from formal 
alliances with other powers. France had never for- 
given Italy for what she considered the latter's in- 
gratitude in refusing support in the w^ar against Ger- 
many ; and the breach widened w^hen France took pos- 
session of Tunis, a country Italy wished to appro- 
priate. Out of this jMediterranean question other 
jealousies between the two nations arose, and Italy 
made advances to Germany, who drew Austria into 
the League; and thus in 1882 the Triple Alliance was 
formed, which was renewed in 1887, and again in 1891 
and 1896, and still exists. 

On June 2, 1882, the great Italian patriot and hero, 
Giuseppe Garibaldi, died at the age of seventy-six, 
in his island home of Caprera. He is remembered by 



Victor Emanuel IL and King Hitmhert 243 

the Italians with greater enthusiasm perhaps than any 
other patriot, while the garb he wore is still affected 
by his followers all over the world. His love of liberty 
and his devotion to the cause of his country is more 
and more appreciated by all who comprehend the far- 
reaching benefits of Italian unity ; and his name is sure 
to be perpetuated through all time as one of the great- 
est in Italian history. The Italian, Giosue Carducci, 
in a speech made at Bologna, gave utterance, among 
other impassioned sentiments, to the following : " The 
glorious figure before the vision of our childhood and 
our ideal of later life has disappeared. The eyes which 
sighted Palermo are closed forever. The heart of him 
who made Italy one, and which so nobly beat and never 
despaired, has yielded to the fate which, soon or late, 
overtakes all." 

Gradually religious changes were introduced among 
the people of Italy, and missionary efforts were at- 
tempted in some of the principal cities. Hospital 
work was begun and schools established, among them 
an institution for girls, while colporteurs and Bible 
readers were kept busy, all of which met with con- 
siderable opposition. Several Protestant sects are 
working all the time in the heart of Rome and Naples, 
there being many English churches and several of the 
American denominations in Italy, so that strangers 
from our own land, when settling down in the large 
Italian cities,' feel that they have a religious home. 
Rome, however, is still the great Catholic center of the 
world, as is seen in the Christmas and Easter festivi- 
ties, when the whole populace is entirely given up 
to Church observances; and to the dispassionate 
looker-on Rome would hardly seem like the Eternal 
City if these forms and ceremonies were abolished. 



244 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Pope Leo XIII., although a shrewd diplomat, was a 
devout Christian, the interests of the Church through- 
out the world having been his most absorbing care. 
His greatest desire was to take part in the memorable 
ceremonies of the Jubilee Year of 1900; and in spite 
of his advanced age he officiated at the opening of the 
Holy Door in St. Peter's. This so fulfilled all the 
hopes he had entertained of seeing the end of the nine- 
teenth century that it was feared he would not long 
survive the beginning of the twentieth. He showed 
great fortitude, however, throughout that year, con- 
tinuing to appear occasionally in the great Basilica and 
to give private audiences. He took part in the cere- 
monies connected with the shutting of the great Jubilee 
Door in St. Peter's on the 24th of December, 1900, 
there being above the lintel a tablet stating this fact. 
Near it another records that Leo XII. opened and shut 
the Jubilee Door of 1825 ; while a third tablet chronicles 
the fact that Pius VI. officiated at a similar service in 

1775- 

In the presence of a large audience Leo XIII. 
blessed all the material to be used in the closing of 
the door, and then threw upon the threshold three tiny 
golden shovelfuls of mortar. Bricks, engraved with 
the Pontifical coat-of-arms and other inscriptions, 
were placed over a diminutive urn filled with com- 
memorative medals of gold, bronze and silver ; and the 
mechanical labor followed. 

The years of Pope Leo's life were much prolonged 
by the watchfulness of his attendants and physicians, 
who were ever at hand on important occasions. 
During the summer months he spent his days among 
the walks and drives of the Vatican gardens, which are 
a world in themselves, breakfasting and dining under 



Victor Emanuel IL and King Humbert 245 

the trees, where he received visits from his cardinals 
and ministers. 

On March 3, 1903, the twenty-fifth anniversary of 
Pope Leo's coronation was celebrated with elaborate 
display. The illuminations which the Pope observed 
from his study windows embraced the Trastevere and 
the Leonine City, and, beyond, the view extended a dis- 
tance of seven miles. As the Pope withdrew from 
gazing on the scene he remarked : " This will indeed 
be a pleasant thing to dream of." 

Although the Pope endured the fatigue and ex- 
citement of the day remarkably well, and notwith- 
standing it was almost five months before the end came, 
from this time his strength declined perceptibly. After 
a noble fight, Leo XIIL passed away on the 20th of 
July, 1903, at the age of ninety-three. The efforts of 
his physicians had been unwearying to keep the silken 
cord, so finely spun out, still unbroken; and their 
endeavors were supplemented by his own almost super- 
human tenacity, which kept him alive nearly three 
weeks after his case, a complication of pleuro-pneu- 
monia, was pronounced hopeless. His death was 
grand, calm and serene ; and according to the testimony 
of his doctors few persons, even in youth, have shown 
such heroic courage in dying. It was the birthday fete 
of Queen Margherita ; but out of respect to His Holi- 
ness no salutes were fired ; and when the news was cir- 
culated that the end had come, flags and ensigns of re- 
joicing were withdrawn from the streets and houses all 
over Rome. The Pope had always had confidence in 
the loyalty of the royal family, as was indicated by a 
remark made on hearing that the king had deferred his 
visit to Paris : " We know how chivalrous the House 
of Savoy has ever been to its opponents." 



246 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Beside the same bed over which all the world had 
watched without regard to creed or politics, the car- 
dinals soon assembled to take official notice of the 
Pope's decease. Cardinal Oreglia, in his capacity of 
Dean of the Sacred College, approached the dead Pon- 
tiff and struck his forehead with a silver hammer, call- 
ing him by name; and then after a short silence he 
announced in the Assembly that the Pope was really 
dead. After this came the ceremony of taking off the 
" Fisherman's Ring," this amulet having belonged, it 
is said, to St. Peter ; and it is claimed that it has been 
worn by every Pope since that time. 

Cablegrams and dispatches were immediately issued, 
notifying the sovereigns and rulers of foreign nations ; 
and before nightfall many messages of condolence 
were received. At eight o'clock commenced the cease- 
less clanging of bells from the four hundred churches 
of Rome, which was kept up for an hour, until the 
whole city seemed a tremendous reverberation. This 
was repeated at the same time in the evening until the 
day of the funeral. 

Pope Leo XIII. was a statesman and a scholar as 
well as an ecclesiastic, the very simplicity of his charac- 
ter constituting his greatness. It is said of him that 
no man held so much influence for good in the last two 
decades of the nineteenth century, during which time 
his hand was visible in almost every public event of 
importance transpiring in the world. He was an inde- 
fatigable worker to the last, his days being spent in 
unremitting labor and toil; and, even after his illness 
set in, it grieved him when he saw his capacity for 
work diminishing. 

Pius IX., with his rule of thirty-two years, was the 
only prelate who ever reigned longer than Leo XIII., 



Victor Emanuel II, and King Humbert 247 

and ten other Popes each held the sacred office foT 
twenty years. 

Pope Leo XIII/s body lay in state in the Church 
of St. Peter's until the funeral, which occurred on 
the 25th of July, 1903, and the vast populace was 
allowed during this time to view his remains. Ac- 
cording to his own request, his body, after a year's 
repose in St. Peter's, was to be removed to St. John in 
Lateran, while an ancient custom prescribed that his 
viscera should be placed in the crypt of the Church of 
St. Anastasius. When they sought the key it could 
not be found, since on account of political complica- 
tions the heart of Pius IX. was left in the Vatican, 
and this ceremony had not been observed since the 
death of Gregory XVI. in 1846. Accordingly it was 
found necessary to break down the door of the vault. 

Nine days after Leo XI IL died, the conclave of the 
cardinals met to elect his successor (the word from cla- 
vis, meaning a key, since it is an assembly behind closed 
doors), the avenue to the Vatican having been walled 
up and all the cells of the cardinals locked and barred. 

There were many interesting incidents connected with 
this imprisonment, since a strict examination was re- 
quired lest something contraband should find its way 
from outside, to influence the cardinals in their choice 
of a candidate. One day there were three hundred 
chickens, five hundred newly laid eggs, besides crates 
of fruit and quantities of vegetables, salads, etc., pre- 
sented at the little wicket for examination. The 
chickens had to be opened, baskets of produce turned 
topsy-turvy and even the eggs were not unmolested. 
The inferior grades of cardinals were sometimes even 
found at their cell window answering signals sent to 
influence their vote. Cardinal Gotti is said to have 



248 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

been the only cardinal who did not complain of his 
quarters. 

After Clement IV. died the choice of his successor 
was debated two years and a half before any decision 
was reached, while Leo XIII/s election was accom- 
plished in thirty-six hours. 

Each morning the people outside the Vatican looked 
for the coil of smoke coming from a certain chimney 
in the Sistine Chapel, which denoted that the ballots 
were being burned because no decision had yet been 
reached. ''La fumata, la fumata/' was often re- 
peated amongst the crowd of sixty thousand sometimes 
assembled in the square of St. Peter's, this undulating 
mass of humanity being kept in order by squads of 
soldiers. On the fourth day Rampolla threw his in- 
fluence, which up to this time was the greatest, in favor 
of Sarto, and on the 4th of August, 1903, the latter 
was elected as Pius X. This Giuseppi Sarto was a 
cardinal, sixty-eight years old, and the Patriarch of 
Venice. At first he refused the honor, but when his 
duty was made clear he finally accepted, not without 
reluctance; and on the following Sunday, August 8, 
he was crowned in St. Peter's, the first Pope to re- 
ceive the diadem there since Gregory XVI. in 1831. 
Pius IX. in 1846 and Leo XIII. in 1878 had assumed 
the office in the Sistine Chapel. The length of the 
Pope's Pontificate is reckoned from his coronation 
day. 

Pius X. is a man from the common people and much 
admired in Venice. He is endowed with handsome 
features and a magnificent clear voice with a musical 
Venetian accent. When chosen, although already 
somewhat advanced in years, he walked with the firm- 
ness of a man in his prime. He was first a parish 



Victor Emanuel II. and King Humbert 249 

priest, then a canon of the Cathedral of Treviso and 
afterward Bishop of Mantua. He was made a cardinal 
in 1893 by Leo XIIL, and when he was elected 
Patriarch of Venice, the highest office in the Catholic 
hierarchy, considerable opposition was raised by the 
Italian government, this being a part of the king's 
patrimony. But, being a friend of King Humbert, the 
difficulty was easily solved and he held the office ten 
years, beloved by the Catholics and esteemed by the 
State. 

The scene in the Vatican square when his election 
was announced was of unparalleled interest. The peo- 
ple were waiting as usual for the smoke, when Cardinal 
Macchi, in official robes, appeared at a window and a 
wild shout went up. Just as he was reading in clear 
tones the preamble, and the name of Sarto was pro- 
nounced, terrific applause of acclamation arose from 
the great crowd. In vain the cardinal waved his hand 
for silence; the pent-up feelings of those who had 
watched day after day for the "" fumata '' could not be 
suppressed. 

In the conclave Sarto was the only candidate strong 
enough to secure the two-thirds vote required by the 
Church. It was believed by most that he would fol- 
low out the broad lines of Leo XIII.'s policy, since he 
had the same reputation for wisdom and culture, and 
his piety is said to possess a strong element of common 
sense. His personality and dignity are in keeping with 
the traditions of the ablest pontiffs who have ruled the 
Vatican, though he is not a man of strong physique. 

It is said that Leo XIII. himself predicted at one 
time that Sarto would be his successor. Many thought 
that his election would finally result in the union of 
Church and State in Italy, and that before many 



250 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

decades the Popes would cease to imprison themselves 
in the Vatican; but, although socialistic inclinations 
betoken necessity of co-operative action between 
Church and State, and the Pope's tendencies favor 
such a policy, the calm of Italian politics has not 
yet been disturbed by the excitement inevitable in the 
settlement of a question which would not only derange 
the foundation of government, but tend to counteract 
embryonic educational influences. 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 251 



CHAPTER XVII 

PRINCES OF THE HOUSE OF SAVOY. — OFFICERS OF THE 
STATE AND ITS VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS. — IMPROVE- 
MENT IN CONDITION OF PEOPLE IN VARIOUS SECTIONS 
AND DEPARTMENTS. ^VAST EMIGRATION. 

THE throne of Italy is hereditary in the male line of 
the House of Savoy, which, in accordance with the 
Salic Law, debars female succession. A part of the 
ceremony, when the title of the King of Italy is as- 
sumed, is that he accepts the crown by the " Grace of 
God and the Will of the People." This exemplifies 
constitutional government, which places the will of 
the people as equal to the kingdom given by God's 
grace. 

The title of Prince of Naples first originated in 
1869, at the birth of the present king, Victor Emanuel 
III., the only child of King Humbert and Queen 
Margherita. King Humbert's brother. Prince Ama- 
deus, died in Turin, in 1890, leaving four sons, Eman- 
uele, Duke of Aosta ; Victor, Count of Turin ; Umberto, 
Count of Salemi, and Luigi, Duke of the Abruzzi. The 
last was the rightful heir in succession until the birth 
of little Prince Humbert. 

The Duke of Abruzzi started out in 1899 on an ex- 
pedition to the North Pole, returning in 1900. He 
penetrated as far as 86"" 33' north latitude, farther than 
any previous explorer, Nansen only going as far as 
86° 14'. Nansen himself met him on his return 
in the October of 1900 at Christiania, and received 



252 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

him with great cordiality. The Duke lost several 
fingers in the North from exposure to the cold, 
and was thus prevented from going with the 
party who left their sledges on the 28th of Feb- 
ruary in order to explore nearer the Pole. They 
found the temperature 50° below zero, Fahrenheit, and 
three out of the six died from exposure, the rest being 
obliged to turn back on the nth of March. The Duke 
of Abruzzi was born in Turin in 1873. 

The annual allowance of the King of Italy is fifteen 
million liras. He acts through his ministers, nomi- 
nated by himself, and taken from the national repre- 
sentation. These protect him in all his State negotia- 
tions, their signature being necessary to give validity 
to the royal decree. With the help of the Chamber 
the king makes the laws; he has the right to declare 
war, and to bring about peace, and has the chief com- 
mand on land and sea. He coins money, stamped with 
his own image, confers orders and has the right to 
pardon. He also calls the National Assembly together 
and dissolves it. 

The coat-of-arms of Italy is a white cross on a red 
field, with a gold regal crown on a shield surrounded 
by a chain of the Annunciata Order ; and the tricolored 
flag of the nation consists of vertical stripes of red, 
green and white, the green next to the flagstaff. 

Negotiations with foreign States, commercial and 
marine, are decided by the National Assembly, which 
consists of Senate and Chamber of Deputies, these 
together, as complements of each other, forming the 
Parliament. The Senate, which is the Upper House, 
has no fixed number, but never exceeds four hundred, 
the members being appointed for life by the king. 
The princes when twenty-one years old are admitted 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 253 

to the body, and when twenty-five have a voice in 
its measures; the president of the body is elected for 
the session. 

Any ItaHan more than forty years of age out of 



--♦n^ y ITAI.Y 

/^<.^ <^ AT THE 

l_oUi5din^^. pj.'ESENT TIME" ' 



SCALB OF Mai8 




.MALTA ^ 



PITIKI INOKt., lOiTOM 



Longitude East 12 from Greenwich 



twenty-one categories is eligible to the Senate; as for 
instance those of the learned class, or artists, of the 
class of high officials or of a category who pay the 



254 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

three hundred Hras in taxes to the State. Only a cer- 
tain number, however, can be represented from each of 
the classes, the king's appointments being subject to 
an examination by a committee chosen for that pur- 
pose. 

In case of high treason, and also in the impeachment 
of ministers, the Senate is the highest court of justice. 
In contrast to the changing House of Deputies, the 
Senate represents the Conservative party, although all 
its members do not necessarily belong to the latter. 

The Senate is not equal in importance to the 
Chamber of Deputies, without whose consent the laws 
are not valid. The Deputies are chosen every five 
years by a College of Electors behind closed doors; 
and its members are selected in a ratio of one to every 
fifty-seven thousand inhabitants, making, in all, about 
five hundred. These must be thirty years old or up- 
ward, and of irreproachable character. Only forty of 
one profession can have a seat, but in every category 
the choice is made by lot, and those who are not chosen 
stand open to the next election. Nominally the king 
opens the Chamber and dissolves it, but in reality the 
members themselves perform this function. The 
choice of Deputies gives rise to much party feel- 
ing through complaints and frequent accusations of 
bribery. 

When there is a vote passed by the Chamber of 
Deputies unfavorable to the cabinet, the latter is forced 
to retire, and the king places the responsibility of 
selecting a new cabinet on the leader of the opposition. 
The president of the Chamber is chosen from the 
ministers. 

There are eleven officers in the cabinet: the Secre- 
tary of the Interior, of Foreign Affairs, of Justice, of 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 255 

the Treasury, of Finance, of War, of the Navy, of 
Education, of PubHc Works, of Agriculture, of In- 
dustry, and of Commerce, as well as of Posts and Tele- 
graph. The principal incomes are derived from the 
land tax (eighty-eight million liras), and from the 
building and movable property (three times that 
amount), and from right of succession, and customs, 
nearly eighty-six millions each. 

The citizens are subject to military duty at the age 
of twenty, all young men who are able-bodied being 
obliged to serve two or three years, though the more 
highly educated pay a tax of twelve hundred liras and 
serve only one year. In this way there are always two 
hundred and fifty or three hundred thousand men ready 
for miUtary service; and since they can be enlisted 
until they are forty years old, nearly a million and a 
half of men are at command in case of war. Though 
the support of this large army is one great cause of 
Italy's poverty, they think that it increases their dig- 
nity as a nation and wards off attack from the outside. 
All the latest inventions have been introduced into the 
service; but notwithstanding the common soldiers are 
willing, enthusiastic, courageous and self-sacrificing, 
they lack technique, and the officers for the most part 
have never greatly distinguished themselves. 

For protection of the restless population of Italy who 
live among the mountains, and have to traverse long 
and difficult distances on foot, a special hunter guard 
or Alpine force, called the Carbinieri, has been insti- 
tuted. There are twelve legions of these, composed of 
forty-three divisions, consisting of thirty-nine hundred 
mounted gendarmes and four thousand foot. They 
carry light cannon, which can be taken to pieces and 
transported on the backs of donkeys ; and chey wear a 



256 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

black uniform with stripes of red surmounted by long 
black cloaks, and cocked hats. The Carbinieri, to pre- 
vent surprise from the criminals they are tracking, 
always go in pairs, so that there is a popular joke that 
they are born twins. The fact that these are chosen 
from the Piedmontese and Tuscans and from Lom- 
bardy, because more reliable, disaffects the southern 
Italians and arouses envy and hatred towards them. 
This corps is selected from those who in their three 
years' obligatory service have never incurred the 
slightest punishment; and the king's guard is made 
up of picked men from this force. The Carbinieri 
have done much to suppress brigandage in the country 
districts. 

The need of the Carbinieri is still apparent from the 
fact that in the October of 1901 several of these 
brigands were captured, among them one Musolino, 
a noted and dangerous desperado, who had escaped 
from prison where he was serving a sentence for mur- 
der. He had lived three years as an outlaw, kilHng 
in the meantime several Carbinieri and many citizens. 

Napoleon in one of his speeches said : " The Italian 
nation to exist must have a strong navy to enforce 
authority over her islands and to protect her coast." 
In accordance with this idea Italy has made her naval 
power equal to that of her army, and in doing so fulfills 
the traditions of the early Marine republics, the gigan- 
tic warships of which were the first examples of fine 
naval armament. The shipyards in Venice, Spezia, 
Taranto, Naples and Castellamare still send forth many 
fine ships. 

All persons who after the age of ten have been on 
the sea as fishermen, or six years as stokers on steam- 
ships, or have worked in shipyards, are subject to 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 257 

naval duty. They enter the navy at eighteen years of 
age, and are divided into three classes. First, those 
who join the navy for life and have four years of 
active service, eight years in the Reserve, and six years 
in the Naval Reserve, as it is called. Second, those 
who have twelve years in the Reserve and six years in 
the Naval Reserve; and third, the exempts — mostly 
among the wealthy — those who enter immediately on 
the so-called Naval Reserve and have no active service. 
The officers, who are educated at Leghorn in a naval 
school like the German one at Kiel, are given a general 
military and naval education, besides being taught the 
minutiae of a seafaring life. The shipbuilding engi- 
neers take the usual engineering course, and then are 
taught the art of shipbuilding in special schools. 

In Piedmont the natural warlike inclination has been 
fostered for three hundred years by clever military 
training. Accordingly the nobility of the land for 
several generations have accustomed themselves to 
military service, so that there is scarcely an aristo- 
cratic family who cannot boast of brave officers. The 
father of Massimo d'Azeglio begged his wife in his 
will not to put on mourning in case he should fall 
fighting, but to appear in holiday attire; since she 
ought to consider it the greatest happiness that he 
had been permitted to give his life for his king and 
country. If one of his little sons complained of 
suffering, d'Azeglio would say to him, half joking: 
" When a Piedmontese loses both his arms and legs, 
and has two wounds in his body, then, and not until 
then, ought he to complain of not feeling well.'' 

Italy is a centralized government in the sense that 
its departments are dependent upon the chief govern- 
ment. There has been an effort made to decentralize 



258 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the provinces, namely, to give them each a legislature 
of their own like our separate States, though still de- 
pendent upon the administration at Rome. It has been 
thought that the length and narrowness of the penin- 
sula renders a centralized government difficult, and 
prevents that brotherly feeling which engenders a 
desire for consolidation. But the greater facilities of 
the present era for communication by means of the 
numerous railroads and telegraphs have brought all 
countries, and especially the divisions of countries, to- 
gether, and made all sections cosmopolitan. 

Italy is now divided into sixteen departments, sixty- 
nine provinces, one hundred and ninety-seven circles, 
eighty-seven districts, one thousand eight hundred sub- 
districts, and eight thousand two hundred and sixty-one 
townships. When the census was taken in 1881 there 
was a population of twenty-eight million, four hun- 
dred and fifty-nine thousand, six hundred and tw^enty- 
eight (28,459,628) inhabitants; but in 1900, in spite of 
emigration, it had increased to nearly thirty-two and 
a half million (32,449,750), and, with colonies, about 
thirty-five million. The extent of the kingdom is 
now one hundred and ten thousand, six hundred and 
seventy-five square miles, making a population of two 
hundred and eighty-nine persons to a square mile. 
The population of Rome doubled between 1871 and 
1881, so that at the latter date it was half a million, 
and in 1899 it was five hundred and twelve thousand, 
four hundred and twenty-five. As the population in- 
creased dwelling houses had to be provided, often at 
the sacrifice of old classical buildings, and for some 
years Rome has had the air of a modern city, which 
towers above the monuments of ancient Rome and now 
extends a long distance beyond the Leonine City. 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 259 

It soon became so apparent that there is room in 
Rome for the spiritual sovereignty of the Church as 
well as for the temporal glory of the Kingdom of 
Italy, that Leo XIII. overcame much of his prejudice 
against the agencies which had robbed the Popes of 
their temporal power, and for some time previous to 
his death permitted the functionaries of the Papal 
court to maintain relation to some extent with the rep- 
resentatives of Italian liberalism. 

When, a little while before his death, Massimo 
d'Azeglio exclaimed : " Now that Italy is made we 
must make the Italians ," he meant that the half cen- 
tury during which the kingdom had been built up 
was entirely inadequate to mold the character of a 
great people. Since then another fifty years has 
passed, and yet Italy is not quite up to the standard of 
the most advanced nations of the twentieth century ; but 
considering the short period since its consolidation in 
1870, it would be unjust to compare it with countries 
which have had centuries of freedom and unity; and 
in the words of General Ponzo di San Martino : " It 
will take yet another century for us to show the world 
what Italy can do." 

It is the elevation of the masses which will bring 
about the return of greatness to Italy. At present 
their condition, compared to that of other nations, is 
pitiable, especially in the south. In parts of the old 
Papal States, particularly in the Marches, some of the 
poor live the year round on chestnuts, and even on 
acorns, while in Milan the frequent subsistence on 
corn-meal disorders the physical system and engenders 
disease. There are also in this section tenement 
houses where at night eighteen hundred souls are 
crowded together like cattle in their stalls. These 



26o Italy: Her People and Their Story 

poor people spend from fourteen to sixteen hours in 
the workshop, some of the men receiving only twelve 
cents a day, the women earning but four cents ; and in 
the south, in some provinces of Sicily and Calabria, 
they have only the waste of what they help to manu- 
facture, receiving no money at all. This manner of 
life has not only dwarfed them mentally, but stunted 
their physical growth, so that the standard of height 
for military service has been lowered. In spite of all 
their poverty, the Italians are taxed more heavily than 
any other nation — it is said to the extent of an average 
of fifteen dollars per head. There is a tax on every- 
thing, both the necessities and the luxuries, on railroad 
tickets, and on the smallest exchange ; and indeed there 
is no package too minute for a government stamp to 
be affixed; so that it is thought that it averages four 
per cent, on the annual income of each individual. 

The result of all this is the enormous emigration, 
which amounts to over three hundred thousand a year. 
This happens in spite of the fact that nearly fourteen 
million acres of uncultivated land remain unredeemed 
and that the government has to import eighty million 
dollars' worth of cereals annually. Although the in- 
crease in emigration of able-bodied men from Italy 
seems enormous, it must not be forgotten that, in spite 
of this, the census shows an increase of about forty- 
four per cent, since i860; and that, if emigration 
should stop, the population, which is now about thirty- 
two million, would in the course of a century amount 
to nearly a hundred million. Accordingly it is esti- 
mated that if Italy became as densely populated pro- 
portionately as the province of Genoa, where there are 
twice as many people to the square mile as elsewhere in 
Italy, at the end of this century she could not contain 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 261 

much more than half her population, since fifty-five 
million is about the maximum capacity of the whole 
peninsula; hence the necessity of the balance of the 
hundred million emigrating in the course of the next 
hundred years. 

During the past two decades five million have gone 
out of Italy into other countries. One hundred thou- 
sand annually enter Switzerland, and nearly as many 
more go to the United States ; though those who go to 
Switzerland often return to Italy later, with a little 
stock of money saved, and settle down in diminutive 
homes. There is an immense Italian colony in New 
York City as well as in other large American towns; 
while in London the Italian quarter amounts to a very 
considerable city in itself. Many emigrate to South 
America, where they do not meet with the same diffi- 
culties in language that they do in the United States. 
The day is not far off when the Argentine Republic, 
ten times as large as Italy itself, will be at least half 
inhabited by Italians, and a new Italy will be formed 
across the sea. 

The lack of proportion in the management of inter- 
nal affairs in Italy is apparent when we realize that it 
has cost one hundred and five million dollars to sup- 
port the African colony of Erythrea in the last sixteen 
years, and the expenses of the army are over seventy- 
one million, while only eight hundred thousand are 
used up in redeeming uncultivated land. 

The most disheartening aspect of the situation in 
Italy is the increase of crime. " In that region of the 
Papal States where St. Francis of Assisi taught the 
pure gospel of peace and charity, sanctifying many 
who listened to his doctrines, four thousand murders 
are committed annually." But these discouraging feat- 



262 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

ures are the result of centuries of decay, political 
slavery, and moral degradation. It is well to add that 
in the north there is more of fraud, just because there 
is less violence; for while inherited criminality of a 
semi-barbarous civilization acts rudely and frankly, 
attacking with the knife, modern delinquency works 
in the dark, and assumes a mask of hypocrisy. 

The modern facilities of communication have in- 
creased the traffic and have brought into Italy twenty- 
five thousand to seventy-five thousand tourists annu- 
ally in the last twenty-five years. 

In the time of Ferdinand of Naples, called "Bomba," 
the percentage of illiteracy in some of the provinces 
of Sicily was ninety-nine, and the average throughout 
the peninsula was then seventy-five per cent. ; and even 
in Tuscany public instruction did not exist. As is 
sometimes the case at present, at that time public 
letter writers, often people of culture who had seen 
better days, were stationed in conspicuous places in 
order to help the ignorant. 

Since the consplidation of Italy things have im- 
proved greatly; for where sixty- four per cent, of the 
entire peninsula could not read or write in 1871, at 
present there are scarcely forty per cent. At that era 
there were only about thirty thousand public primary 
schools in all Italy, costing six million dollars, with 
about a million pupils, while now there are sixty thou- 
sand schools, and over three million pupils, which cost 
annually fifteen million dollars. Every parish has a 
girls' and boys' school with a teacher for every seventy 
pupils; and larger cities have higher elementary 
schools. Unfortunately, however, education is oblig- 
atory only from six to nine years of age, and they 
fail to enforce even this law on account of insufficient 



Improvements and Modern Institutions 263 

means and lack of teachers. This latter difficulty has 
been partially obviated, however, by the establishment 
of one hundred and fifty normal schools. Higher 
schools are not free; and although Italy v^as the 
earliest seat of universities, at present their standard 
is much lower than elsewhere. It is even said that 
many of their college students know hardly more than 
high school graduates in other countries. 

For many years voting was restricted to those who 
paid taxes to the amount of forty liras; for it was 
thought that there was danger from the suffrage of 
the poor and ignorant who were indifferent to public 
questions. The qualification has now been extended 
to all who are of age and can read and write; and if 
there were no illiterates there would be seven million 
on the electoral list. As it is, there ought to be four 
million voters, when in fact only two million citizens 
have signed the voting list, and only about a million 
and a third went to the polls at the last general elec- 
tion. Therefore it is apparent that it is the will of 
the minority which governs Italy, and that the most 
potent cause of this, and the one which might prevent 
Italy from becoming a great and glorious nation, is 
the lack of education among the common people. 

There are three times as many post and telegraph 
offices in Italy as there were in 1870, the postal matter 
also being trebled. The commerce has gained ninety- 
nine per cent., and her exports one hundred and twenty 
per cent., since 1870. Beggars are at present practi- 
cally confined to the south; and Florence and Naples, 
which have been centers of infection, are now largely 
rebuilt; so that where in 1872 the death rate in Rome 
was forty-one and eight-tenths per thousand, in 1897 it 
was only fourteen and three-tenths. 



264 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

But the greatest foe of Italy is of her own house- 
hold, the household of faith, the clericals being her 
bitterest enemies ; for, since they have condescended to 
take part in the government they are ready to support 
any antagonist, whether republic or empire. These 
political differences, however, have at present little 
effect on pubHc tranquillity. Thus, "the year that 
Pius IX. was at the Vatican, Victor Emanuel 11. at 
the Quirinal, and Garibaldi at the Villa Casalini, these 
three men, who had fought each other for thirty years, 
lived in the same city without being in conflict. When 
the philosopher, Giovanni Bovio, came to Rome and 
saw the situation, he exclaimed : ' This is not a town, 
it is the world ! ' '' 

When after the taking of Rome the clericals, a large 
part of the conservative element, were forbidden by 
the Pope to vote, the " Right " ceased to exist, and the 
traditional party lines of '' Right and Left " gradually 
disappeared; but afterwards these two parties again 
took shape, and in addition to these the Socialists be- 
came an important factor with which to reckon, they 
having increased from seventy-six thousand in 1895 
to on^ hundred and thirty-five thousand in 1897. 



Military Expansion and Literature 265 



CHAPTER XVIII 

ABYSSINIAN WAR. — CRISPI. — ^AUTHORS. 
1885—1899 A. D. 

IN 1880 the Florio-Rubatino Navigation Company 
ceded to the Italian government their coaHng station 
on the Bay of Assab on the Red Sea, which she had 
held since 1870; and in 1885 the Italians were attacked 
with the widespread fever for colonization. The 
English were at this time engaged in trying to absorb 
the Soudan ; and now Italy, desiring to gain their favor, 
sent troops to take possession of Massowah. When 
Khartoum fell the Italians made friendly overtures to 
John, the Negus of Abyssinia, hoping thus to attract 
the inland trade to their new port of Massowah. But 
the Negus was not so easily pacified, and, having sent a 
large force to Dogali, he surrounded a division of five 
hundred Italians and massacred them. This was the 
signal for war; and in January, 1888, the Negus en- 
camped before the Italian fortifications at Massowah, 
but later thought it best to retire with his large force 
without engaging in battle. 

Menelik, the mighty King of Shoa, revolted from 
his allegiance to the Negus John, who was mortally 
wounded in the fray. This Menelik, though still half 
civilized, is a much better sovereign than his prede- 
cessors, such as the usurper Theodore, who traced 
their pedigree from the ancient line as far back as 
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. 

When in 1887^ Crispi became prime minister after 



2.^ Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the death of Depretis, the Italian government, wishing 
still further to enlarge its territory in Africa, occupied 
Keran and Asmara, and united with Menelik, who 
pledged himself to support them. Crispi called his 
new colony in Africa Erythrea, from the Greek name 
of the Red Sea; and a large protectorate was estab- 
lished over a considerable extent of the Somali penin- 
sula. Crispi, who thought that by these conquests a 
great colonial career was about to open for Italy, has 
always been censured as the one to blame for the con- 
tinuance of the war. 

In his early history Crispi was known as an adven- 
turous, ambitious, and daring spirit, he having been 
an animating force throughout the struggle, which led 
to the overthrow of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. 
After being repeatedly banished on account of his 
fanatical tendencies, he wandered in the disguise of a 
tourist, and sometimes as a journalist, between London, 
Paris and Italy, the agent of the United Italian party, 
organizing committees to incite revolution. He sided 
with Mazzini against the Piedmont alliance with Louis 
Napoleon, it being understood that if at any time Vic- 
tor Emanuel himself became the head of an invading 
army, they would unite with him. Having returned to 
Naples, Crispi was allowed to land on the 30th of 
August; and on the 13th of May, i860, he set out with 
" The Thousand," under the command of Garibaldi. 
His acts were so decided that he is said to have been 
the " best abused " man in Italy next to Mazzini. He, 
with Garibaldi and Mazzini, adhered to the original 
programme of freeing Venice and Naples and crown- 
ing Victor Emanuel King of Rome. 

Although the Cavour party wished to keep Crispi 
out of Parliament, he was not only elected, but, being 



Military Expansion and Literature 267 

very poor, his electors supported him in Turin until 
his success as a lawyer rendered him independent. 
During the '6o's he was the leader of the extreme Left, 
and was called "an Ishmaelite among journalists"; 
and he was ever after no cipher in politics. He was 
an advocate of a vigorous policy against Austria in 
1866, and was then opposed to Depretis. He was af- 
terwards, however. Minister of Finance, in Depretis* 
cabinet, not only succeeding him in 1887 ^^ premier, 
but also assuming the posts of home and foreign 
minister. Soon after this he paid the memorable visit 
to Bismarck, which resulted in the entrance of Italy 
into the Triple Alliance. 

The undertaking of vast naval and military schemes 
brought Italy to the verge of bankruptcy, and a series 
of financial crises followed; and in 1889 two attempts 
were made on Crispins life. His refusal to consider 
the question of retrenchment in military and naval 
aflfairs led to the defeat of his ministry in 1891 ; but 
after the term of Signor di Rudini and the resignation 
of Signor Giolitti, Crispi was again head of the Cham- 
ber in 1894. 

Notwithstanding Menelik's shortcomings as an 
African barbarian, in this war he proved himself a 
great statesman. He claims to sustain a Christian 
government; and he and his wife, an uncommonly 
intellectual woman, lead a well-ordered life, going to 
church service daily, and Sundays to the Holy Trin- 
ity Church. They live in great splendor at Aditis 
Adab in East Africa, and are very much interested in 
the modem accouterments of living, new inventions, 
etc., Menelik having for his chief military officer a 
Swiss engineer by the name of Ilg from Zurich, Swit- 
zerland, who is really his prime minister. The crown 



268 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of Menelik is said to be so heavy that he cannot speak 
without its being lifted. 

In 1893 Menelik got control of all Abyssinia and 
refused to recognize the Italian protectorate. Taking 
courage from this, the Dervishes, followers of Osman 
Digma, annoyed by the Italian advance, stormed the 
fort of Agordat, but were defeated with great loss, and 
in 1894 General Baratieri succeeded in expelling the 
remnant of their band from Kassala, thus securing the 
safety of the Italian colony on that side. Italy and 
Abyssinia now came to open warfare, and though Bara- 
tieri succeeded in occupying the whole Tigris by de- 
feating Ras Mangascia, the viceroy, at Coatit and 
Senefeh, in 1895, the latter secured the aid of Menelik, 
and with a large force carried all Abyssinia with him 
in turn, advancing against Baratieri. The latter was 
badly equipped and poorly supported at home by the 
ministry, who knew nothing about the situation in 
the East, and did not look out that the resources were 
sufficient to prosecute the war. 

In December, 1895, Major Toselli was killed at 
Amba Alagi, while resisting a large force of the 
enemy. Major Galliano, at Makaleh, held out against 
the Abyssinians for a month ; then, not being relieved 
and seeing his men dying for want of water, he de- 
cided to blow up the fort; but Menelik, either out of 
respect for their bravery, or because he had himself 
been meeting with great losses, allowed them to march 
out and join Baratieri at Adigrat. 

After reinforcements arrived. General Baratieri, not- 
withstanding his hardships, kept on the defensive, 
but on the ist of March he led fourteen thousand 
men into action against the Abyssinians at the fateful 
Battle of Adowah. On account of the lack of good 



Military Expansion and Literahire 269 

generalship in advancing, the Italians were routed 
by the enemy, who greatly outnumbered them. Some 
seven thousand, a third of their army, was slain, and 
sixty or seventy guns taken. Among the dead there 
were several prominent generals, including General 
Arimondi and General Galliano, who had just been 
promoted, for his distinguished services at Makaleh, 
to the position of Lieutenant-Colonel. General Dabor- 
mida was mortally wounded. Another third of the 
forces were taken prisoners under General Albertone, 
who bore the brunt of the battle; but the latter was 
missing after the fight was over. General Baratieri, 
who was wounded, was tried by court-martial for 
inefficiency, and^ though acquitted, was superseded 
by General Baldissera, who arrived five days after 
and proceeded to reorganize the army in Erythrea. 
Menelik was too cautious to advance further. 

The people were greatly aroused at the news from 
Adowah, and accused the government of mismanage- 
ment, censuring Crispi for forcing upon their country 
such vast and unprofitable projects without sufficient 
resources to back them. 

In the meantime the troops left in Adigrat, together 
with two other garrisons, several thousand prisoners 
in all, were waiting for peace in order to gain their 
release. On the 5th of March Crispi again gave up 
his ministry to Rudini, who rejected the former's ex- 
pansion policy. At the same time he relinquished 
Italy's newly acquired possessions, restricting their 
boundaries to the Mareb-Belesae-Muna line, thus vir- 
tually retaining only their colony of Erythrea. Finally 
the prisoners were liberated at the cost to Italy of a 
large ransom; and later the popular feeling was that 
the English, in order to keep the advantage in their 



270 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Soudanese expedition, had unduly influenced Italy to 
give up Kassala, which the latter had just ceded to 
them. Then the people realized that it would be a 
long time before Italy would be able to " draw from 
her foot the thorn of Abyssinia " ; and when three 
years later, in 1899, it was thought that the English 
were trying to spur them on to regain what they had 
lost at Adowah, they said that they would not again 
" pull the chestnuts out of the fire for England " as 
they had done at Kassala. 

Some time before this^ frauds had been detected in 
the management of several of the State banks, and 
investigations brought to light the fact that there was 
dishonesty in various departments of the govern- 
ment. Cavallotti, one of the writers of the day, and 
the leader of the " Left," was at the head of this move- 
ment, and was a great instrument in again bringing 
about the fall of Crispi. 

Just at this time, in 1898, the effect of the Spanish- 
American War raised the price of bread and precipi- 
tated notorious riots in Milan, which were only sup- 
pressed by the imprisonment of many. In this revolt 
the nation thought they recognized an attempt to un- 
dermine the great structure of Italian unity. But the 
spirits of the people were raised and the populace op- 
portunely diverted by a splendid exposition at Turin, 
where for the next six months thousands of people had 
occasion to notice the great progress which Italy had 
made during half a century. 

The king, by the advice of his minister, Pellou, had 
issued a decree against the Socialists, which had refer- 
ence to the riots of 1899 in Milan. This was the 
occasion of great disturbances in the Chamber, so that 
Parliament was dissolved and Zanardelli, president 



Military Expansion and Literature 271 

of the Chamber of Deputies, resigned in favor of 
Chinaglia. 

The society called the Mafia had sprung up among 
the Italians, very much like the old Vehm-Gericht 
which did such deadly work in Germany during the 
Middle Ages. At their instigation, during the year 
1899, Nota-Bartolo was thrown off a train going at 
full speed for trying to expose their practices. Deputy 
Palizzuolo was at the time suspected of complicity 
with the society, and later was tried and convicted, 
and in 1902 was sentenced as being privy to the deed. 

It has been said that all Italy's achievements during 
the last half of the nineteenth century — her dignity as 
a nation, her ability in uniting heterogeneous particles, 
and her political successes — were rivaled by her con- 
quests in literature during the first half of the century. 

The nineteenth century had begun with the Peace of 
Luneville, in 1801, a peace which Alfieri said " held all 
Europe in arms and terror." Parini had died two 
years before, and two years after Alfieri passed away, 
he whom Gioberti called the " Restorer of Italian 
Genius." 

The poet Giuseppi Parini was born in 1729, and 
from the time of his first poems, which were published 
when he was only twenty-three years of age, his des- 
tiny in letters was assured and his influence in literary 
circles established. 

The writings of Vittorio Alfieri, on the contrary, 
were during his lifetime more influential from a polit- 
ical point of view ; yet it was he who elevated the Ital- 
ian drama, great theaters dating from that era. His 
most popular tragedy was " Saul " ; and he also pub- 
lished many poems in which he exalted liberty and 
sung of a new Italy and a new life for her people. 



2^2 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

The writers of the seventeenth century had crossed 
the Alps and, after communicating with the French, 
German and EngHsh, had translated their books and 
caught their spirit; and from this contagion the first 
Italian novel was derived, " The Last Letters of Jacob 
Ortis," by Ugo Foscolo, which introduced the litera- 
ture of the nineteenth century. The sentiment of the 
Italians in the Napoleonic age are brought out in the 
life and works of Foscolo and Monti. The other 
writers of that period were but satellites who reflected 
but little of the white heat of the times. 

Foscolo, though still young, having been bom in 
1778, was no longer full of the illusion and hopeful- 
ness of youth when he wrote the novel in which he 
depicts his grief at the course of Napoleon in selling 
the liberty of Venice, a city with a record of thirteen 
centuries of splendid independence. In 1827, several 
years before his death, he published his sublime poem, 
" The Sepolcri," written in 1806, reminding the Ital- 
ians that only national traditions and the memory of 
the illustrious dead would be able to bring about the 
regeneration of Italy. 

Vincenzo Monti, though an older man, born in 1754 
and dying in 1828, also lived in the Napoleonic era. 
He had more confidence in Napoleon than in the Ital- 
ian nation; and, though he had once clung to the 
Papacy and railed at revolt, he now devoted his life to 
revolution, even endorsing the tragic putting away of 
Louis XVI. He clothed his language in classical and 
mythological garb, in relating contemporaneous events, 
and gained the name of poet of the Italian government. 

When Napoleon was Emperor of France and King 
of Italy Monti made him the sole subject of his songs 
and poems, celebrating his victories in the " II Bardo " 



Military Expansion and Literature 273 

and other books, at the same time that Foscolo, anxious 
and aloof, was at Brescia writing his patriotic 
'' Sepolcri." 

The work, however, which endeared Monti to pos- 
terity and showed his perfection in writing verse, was 
the translation of the " IHad." 

When Napoleon had renounced his dominion in 
Italy, and Austria had regained her hold in that penin- 
sula, a mental activity took the place of the din of 
arms, and the writers of the day again returned to let- 
ters and study. 

While Foscolo was far away in exile doing his best 
work, and Monti had grown old and ill in the advanc- 
ing century, two other sovereigns in letters grew to 
maturity — Alexander Manzoni and Giacomo Leopardi. 
These two men, who came from different parts of Italy 
and possessed diverse characteristics and education, 
gave to the Italian language some immortal works. 
Following the example of Sir Walter Scott, Manzoni 
introduced the historical novel, representing Lombard 
and Spanish society during the first half of the seven- 
teenth century, and the character and lives of obscure 
men in the most unhappy epoch of Italian history. 
Although Manzoni's theories leaned toward romanti- 
cism, in his novels he brought real people before his 
readers, adapting them to the era in which they lived ; 
and realism soon after characterized Italian litera- 
ture. 

A Christian spirit of charity and justice ran through 
all Manzoni's writings and developed in him the love 
for his country. " I Promessi Sposi " and " II Cinque 
Maggio '' were his most distinguished works, the for- 
mer being without doubt the greatest Italian romance 
as well as the most beautiful example of popular mod- 



274 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

ern Italian prose, both on account of its simplicity and 
artistic dignity. 

Leopardi in his youth knew only fleeting dreams. 
He was a pessimist, his mind being devoid of faith 
both in mankind and in Divine Providence, and thus 
by an unhappy and reserved life he became entirely 
engrossed in literary pursuits. While he studied the 
antique he divined, almost without contact with the 
outside world, the rich and fervid motives of modern 
thought ; and by his own impulsive romantic doctrines 
and aspirations he chose subjects which were not such 
as literary traditions teach, but what real life brings 
before one. Indeed, he presents us with life itself, 
which makes us all brothers in suffering. " In his 
prose works he reasons out by philosophy the neces- 
sary unhappiness of living beings; in his poetry he 
pours out the cry of his divine heart, which wept for 
the miser}^ of his country and the sorrows of the 
world." Day by day he wrote the story of his inde- 
fatigable spirit in a great and immortal volume called 
his '* Pensieri." 

Now no other voice but that of the literary world 
remained to the martyred nation. The passion for the 
liberty of their country had once more arisen in the 
eager hearts of the youths, after the first terror at 
Italy's fall into slavery under Napoleon had passed 
away ; and among the conspirators there arose the new 
patriotic literature which was to educate the Italians 
to revolution as a nation. The condemned and exiles 
of 1821 gave to poetry a new fire of youth, which broke 
forth in the songs of Giovanni Berchet, Gabriel Rosetti 
and others. In 1832 Silvio Pellico returned from ten 
years' confinement in the prisons of Spielberg, and 
published '' Le Mie Prigioni," a story of his sufferings. 



Military Expansion and Literature 275 

so powerful in its patient cadence that it cost Austria 
more than one lost battle and incited all liberal Europe 
to pity. His moving tragedy, ** Francesca da Rimini/' 
was full of patriotism. 

From that time Italian literature was changed and 
became warlike and revolutionary. Foscolo had said: 
" Italians, I exhort you to write history ; for no people 
can show more calamities to lament, more errors to 
avoid, more bravery to arouse respect, nor more great 
minds worthy of being liberated from oblivion." The 
classic writers responded to this sentiment by writing 
eloquent histories and the romanticists by the his- 
torical romances and drama, which, by presenting in 
an attractive form the facts of Italy's past, became 
auxiliary to history proper. 

The historical romance took a sentimental form 
under Tomaso Grossi, an oratorical bent with Fran- 
cesco Domenico Guerrazzi, who said that he wrote 
books because he could not fight battles, and a dra- 
matic turn with Massimo d'Azeglio, the leader of the 
Moderate party. The latter we have had occasion to 
refer to many times as a Piedmontese lord of great 
nobility of character who condemned radical move- 
ments. The historical drama arose with Giovanni 
Battista Niccolini ; and literature was filled with great 
memories of the past. Thus the Italian youths, who 
made up the armies of Italy fighting in the wars for 
independence, drew inspiration from the books which 
they read. A good example of the satirical poets was 
found in Giuseppe Giusti. He, with his quick wit, 
aroused laughter and anger in turn, by rhymes which 
seemed jokes and which were victorious battles of 
good sense for the liberation of Italy. 

The most powerful writer of the first three-quarters 



2rj^ Italy: Her People and Their Story 

of the century was Giuseppe Mazzini, whose poetic 
prose, vibrating with enthusiasm, gained innumerable 
co-operators of that revolution, brought about in the 
name of God and the people, for the unity of Italy and 
republican liberty. 

Nicolo Tommaseo, a companion of Daniele Manin 
in the insurrection of Venice, and an exile with him, 
produced many strong political, critical, and philologi- 
cal treatises. Balbo, the minister of Victor Emanuel 
I., wrote *' Speranza di Italia " (Concerning the Hopes 
of Italy). Manno, Capponi, Cantu, Corrente, Amari 
Troya and Vanucci also wrote historical works and 
patriotic articles. 

In Florence, that quiet center of study, all lovers of 
literature gathered together in the club founded by 
Gian Pietro Viesseux. Thence came the "Antologia " 
and *'Archivio Storico Italiano " (The Historical 
Archives of Italy), the publication of which works 
opened up the modern revival of historical study. 

Vincenzo Gioberti in the revolutionary period had 
taken the part of the existing confederation and rec- 
ommended conciliation at the same time that Mazzini 
was instigating plots and uprisings. The reality, how- 
ever, proved far different from Gioberti's ideals, and 
in 185 1, recognizing his mistake, he publicly took his 
stand in favor of the revolution; accordingly in his 
" Rinnovamento Civile dTtalia " (The Civil Revival of 
Italy), he urged a change from ideal aspirations to 
the study of the real and more imminent practical mat- 
ters. This work turned the tide in politics towards 
the destiny of the nation under Victor Emanuel and 
Count Cavour. 

One by one the old patriotic writers died or were 
almost forgotten, and between 1849 ^^^ ^859 only 



Military Expansion and Literature 2/"/ 

Giovanni Prati was noticeable. He brought forth 
poems and splendid lyrics, which, though gems, were 
lost in the midst of digressions and strange bursts of 
allegory. 

Ippolito Nievo portrayed in a novel the life of 
the Italians during the transition period; but the 
promises of his genius were cut off through his acci- 
dental death by drowning while he was returning, in 
March, 1861, from taking part in Garibaldi's revolu- 
tion in Sicily, just at the time that the Kingdom of 
Italy was being proclaimed at Turin. 

The joyful climax was not the signal, as might be 
expected, for a bold revival of literature ; minds were 
confused by the upheaval and there was less and less 
of that intellectual concord which had governed the 
writers of the first half of the century; and besides, 
Italy as a nation had to revive educationally in order 
to come up to modern standards. Then art took di- 
vided paths, either turning with Prati to the imitation 
of the classic style, or, with Aleardo Aleardi, giving 
vent to romantic sentiment. 

At the proclamation of the Italian kingdom roman- 
ticism really passed away, as in the first half of the 
century classicism had given place to the romantic, 
Goldoni being the first of the former and Giordani 
the last; and before the third quarter of a century 
dawned the realistic school had superseded the ro- 
mantic. 

When Carducci, the leader of the literary world be- 
tween 1870 and 1890, came upon the scene, he pro- 
claimed himself opposed to romanticism. His style 
was influenced by Alfieri and Foscolo, while his poems, 
though resembling the foreign poetic masters, are 
boldly original and cling to classic requirements. 



278 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Although it was many years before his genius was 
recognized, he dimmed the fame of all his contempora- 
ries and formed a school of living poets who have 
adopted the severe purity of Greek and Roman metric 
forms. He also writes valuable prose in the form of 
political and historical treatises. 

Rapisardi stands alone as an exception to this rule 
and resembles Prati and Arthur Graf, the latter a Ger- 
man romanticist who stands by himself in writing the 
Italian language. 

Villari, the living historian, has written fascinatingly 
of Florentine life as it existed in the time of Savona- 
rola and Machiavelli, presenting those past scenes with 
the same vividness as experiences of to-day. He also 
treats current topics ably. 

Besides several distinguished poetesses, there are 
many other living writers of some note, but we will 
only mention two: d'Annunzio and d'Amicis, whose 
fame is world-wide. 

Gabriele d'Annunzio, the poet and novelist, born in 
1862, is equally criticised and lauded. He is an imag- 
inative poet and expresses himself like a writer of the 
sixteenth century, portraying the life of the fashion- 
able set. Although he egoistically works into his 
novels the turbidness of his soul, his fervid tempera- 
ment and wealth of imagery develop something of the 
originality found in Goethe and later in Theophile 
Gautier. Among his latest works are several dramas 
which have attracted much attention, one of his latest 
being the tragedy, " Francesca da Rimini." D'An- 
nunzio's poetry is greatly admired in Italy, and great 
things are expected of him; but he is immoral in his 
tendencies. 

Edmondo d'Amicis, on the other hand, exerts a de- 



Military Expansion and Literature 279 

cidedly moral influence and is the most popular of liv- 
ing Italian authors on account of his wit and the ver- 
satility of his genius. At first he was an officer in the 
army ; and at present he is a great traveler as well as 
a novelist, his topics varying from reminiscences of the 
Italian wars to the descriptions of contemporaneous 
customs in far-away countries. He is a Socialist and 
a great observer of human character, painting vividly 
all phases of social life. His most popular work, 
" Cuore," which has been translated into all languages, 
is a simple and touching picture of school life in Pied- 
mont. Next to Manzoni he has given to Italy her best 
prose, most nearly resembling the spoken language, 
and of the purest style. He stands alone in fame all 
over the world and we may speak of him as Marmion 
did of his great master, as a " captain without 
soldiers." 

The works which will live in future generations are 
" I Promessi Sposi " by Manzoni, " II Canti " by Leo- 
pardi, and " La Divina Commedia." The last, though 
belonging to another epoch, was popularly appreciated 
only in this century ; and it can be said that the Italian 
author best known, most studied and ever deeply loved, 
is Dante Alighieri. 

The large army of eminent living journalists, scien- 
tific men, biographers, humorists, etc., at the present 
time, too numerous to mention, furnishes evidence of 
intellectual activity as well as of the strength of the 
nation and the vitality of the race. 

The greatest name in Italian art during the first 
two decades of the past century was that of Antonio 
Canova. He was called the " Prince of Sculptors and 
Reformer of Art in Italy." His first efforts brought 
him praise; and fortune being on his side, sovereigns 



28o Italy: Her People and Their Story 

and Popes overwhelmed him with decorations and 
honors. 

Sculpture continued to prosper under Alberto Thor- 
waldsen, a Dane who came to Rome in 1796, when 
twenty-six years old, and remained there more than 
forty years. He sustained fanatically the systems of 
Winckelmann and David, using Greek art for his 
model. Theophile Gautier wrote of him : *' He has 
studied the antique thoroughly and has copied nature 
with seeing eyes, simplifying or eradicating useless 
details and leading up to a beautiful ideal." 

The greatest sculptor of the last half of the nine- 
teenth century is Vincenzo Vela, who was born in the 
Swiss Canton of Ticino and now lives in Turin. As 
a realist he has exercised, for half a century, the 
greatest influence on Italian sculpture. 

Romanticism has found its warmest adherents in the 
sculptors Lorenzo Bartolini and Marochetti, and in 
the painter Hayez, while the artist Morelli, who died 
a year or two ago in Naples, was a more decided ro- 
manticist than any of them. The brothers Domenico 
and Girolamo Induno were realists in the highest sense, 
making genre pictures their specialty. 

In music Italy no doubt has led the world, Rossini, 
Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi being four names, any 
one of which would have brought glory to a nation. 

Rossini effected a revolution in music like that of 
Goldoni in the drama, and one can only appreciate what 
force, what variety of expression and what fullness 
and richness of form he added to it by comparing him 
with his predecessors. His fame can be judged by 
these lines from the pen of an illustrious French critic : 
" After the death of Napoleon there was another man 
who was the subject of conversation each day from 




DonisettL 
VerdL 



Musicians. 
Rossini. 



BcUiuL 
MascagnL 



Military Expansion and Literature 281 

Moscow to Naples, from London to Vienna, from 
Paris to Calcutta. This was Rossini, and his fame 
knew no boundaries except those of the civilized 
world." 

Bellini was called the Petrarch of music, and he had 
indeed the -energy and sweetness of the latter. He 
understood how to bring out the clangor of battle and 
to express the sigh of a breaking heart ; and he found 
new riches in the human voice with which to express 
the most varied and subtle feelings. 

A most powerful genius for versatility and profound 
sentiment was Donizetti. He was born to feel and to 
express in music the emotions of his soul. At first he 
imitated Rossini, then Bellini, but finally he found a 
strain of his own and stamped it ineffaceably with his 
individuality. 

The pride of Italy for more than half a century was 
in the fame of Verdi. When this veteran composer 
first came before the public all felt that he was like 
one of those poets of antiquity who prophesied the 
future of the people and that in his music they had 
beard the voice of the Fatherland. " Richard Wag- 
ner was dominated by fancies of a great far-away dim 
world where ruled gods and demigods, but Giuseppe 
Verdi felt the passions of the earth, the expression of 
our hopes and of our fears." 

" In the little peasant's hut at Roncola he was born, 
a hut sacred to posterity, where as a child he thumped 
away on an old spinet acquired for him by his father 
with nobody knows how many sacrifices. There, in the 
solitude of the hills, his genius awoke, such a genius as 
Goethe says grows from silence and solitude. Who 
can describe the emotions roused during the past three- 
quarters of a century by this creating artist? Who 



282 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

can say what ocean of touching harmony he scattered 
through the world? Others aroused men by barbaric 
violence. He did it by a beneficent force." 

Giuseppe Verdi died on the 27th of January, 1901, 
at Milan, where fifty-eight years before they had ap- 
plauded the great master in a fever of delight. " He 
is resting, resting after the wearisome labor of the day. 
Just as eighteen years before, Richard Wagner died 
in Venice, in one of those palaces on the Grand Canal 
whose magic architecture is silent music, this other 
giant of the opera also closed his days full of inspira- 
tion and glory, under the Italian sky which Alfred 
de Musset once celebrated as the home of harmony." 

Aside from the works of these great masters only 
two of the nineteenth century are likely to survive : the 
'* Giaconda " of Ponchielli, and the " Mefistofele " of 
Arrigo Boito, an intimate friend of Verdi. Among 
the new lights which are now appearing are Mascagni, 
Puccini, and Leoncavallo. 

During the course of the century there gradually 
developed among the Italians an inclination for the 
drama ; and, besides the tragedies produced by the early 
writers of the century, comedies appeared, *^ numerous 
as the leaves in the spring which disappear with the 
first autumn wind." On the stage we have few prose 
dramas of world-wide fame, though '* La CavaJleria 
Rusticana " by Verga, from which Mascagni took his 
plot, and the tragedies of Gabriele d'Annunzio have 
created lively discussion in Europe and America. 
These have done much to enrich the prose of the stage, 
which had greatly deteriorated since the time of its 
founder Goldoni. 

There are scores of scientists worthy to be men- 
tioned, among them many astronomers. Piazzi 



Military Expansion and Literature 283 

brought to light the Httle planets between Mars and 
Jupiter, and Schiaperelli disclosed the canals on Mars, 
while Dunbowski discovered the duplex and multiplex 
stars. Italy, even though not first among European 
nations, was ever second to none in astronomy; but 
the money to keep up with the progressive inventions 
in astronomical instruments was lacking until after 
Italy's consolidation. 

For twenty years a new force has been upsetting the 
old regime ; and electricity, through the genius of great 
scientists, particularly Italians, has accomplished mar- 
vels. Italy has great hydraulic forces, and electricity 
will therefore be of incalculable benefit to her, and, 
together with the discovery of aluminum, will largely 
compensate for her lack of iron and coal, and make up 
for her losses incurred by the newer methods used in 
manufacture in other parts of the world. 

Wireless telegraphy, as invented and perfected by 
Marconi in 1902 — one hundred and three years after 
Volta's birth, sixty-three after the invention of telegra- 
phy, and twenty-six after the invention of the tele- 
phone — soon became one of the acknowledged features 
of science. Marconi announced as early as the night of 
the i6th of December, 1901, that he had received in 
Newfoundland signals sent directly from England, a 
distance of over two thousands miles. 

On January 19, 1903, Marconi transmitted from 
Cape Cod Station to Cornwall, England, a message 
from Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United 
States, to King Edward VII. of England. His system 
was then in use, however, on only seventy ships and 
twenty land stations; while in 1905 all the principal 
ocean steamers are able to send and receive messages 
daily and hourly. This makes it possible to issue on 



284 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

shipboard little newspapers recording the latest news 
from all parts of the world. 

Marconi was born in Bologna in 1874, and therefore 
gained fame before he was thirty years old. He has 
shown great intelligence in his work, and his triumphs 
are well deserved, although there is much still to dis- 
cover before the system will compete with the tele- 
graph. Since his father is an Italian, and his mother 
is a native of the British Isles, it is no wonder that he 
has all the ardor of the South and the cool-headed 
perseverance of the Anglo-Saxon race. 

There has been great excitement in Italy concerning 
the alleged discoveries in respect to malaria," scientific 
experiments made between Battipaglia and Psestum 
seeming to prove that this disease is inoculated by 
small insects of the same genus as the mosquito. Other 
valuable developments are expected. 



IP' 




<1 



O 

H 



:2j 



Italy at the Present Day 285 



CHAPTER XIX 

ASSASSINATION OF KING HUMBERT. — ^VICTOR EMANUEL 
III. — DEATH OF CRISPI. — BIRTH OF PRINCESS lOLANDE. 

BIRTH OF HUMBERT, PRINCE OF PIEDMONT. 

1900—1905 A. D. 

ON July 29, 1900, the Italian people were para- 
lyzed by the news of the assassination of King 
Humbert I. With his aide-de-camp, the king was re- 
turning from a distribution of prizes at Monza, near 
Milan, and was just entering his carriage when three 
revolver shots hit him in quick succession, one piercing 
his heart. He had only time to exclaim : " It is noth- 
ing" {b niente), and, sinking immediately into uncon- 
sciousness, he expired a short time after. The assassin 
was Angelo Bresci, a native of Prato in Tuscany, but 
lately from the noted society of anarchists in Pater- 
son, New Jersey, whose motto is : " Death to Rulers." 

The queen, Margherita, was out driving; and when 
on her return to the Palace the truth that the king 
could not survive was made known to her, she burst 
into tears, exclaiming : " It is the greatest crime of the 
century. Humbert was good and faithful to his people, 
and bore no ill-will to anyone." 

The Prince and Princess of Naples were absent on 
a pleasure excursion in the Levant, and were on the 
high seas on board their yacht when the news reached 
them. Crispi met the sorrowful young couple with 
dispatches on their arrival at Naples in the middle of 



286 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

the night; and the following day they proceeded as 
rapidly as possible to Milan and thence to Monza, 
where they were welcomed by the sorrowing Queen 
Margherita. 

King Humbert was fifty-six years old when he died. 
His naturally austere, though kind face, aged before 
its time, was beaming w^ith pride and happiness that 
very day as he watched the gay contests of strength. 

A first attack aiming to take the king's life was made 
at Naples by Passanante, a wretched scullery boy, when 
the king and queen were making their presentation 
journey through Italy before they came to the throne. 
In 1897 the scoundrel Ascianto, an Italian anarchist, 
made a second attempt while the king was driving one 
day on the Corso. Humbert w^as a fatalist, however, 
and took no precaution to protect his life, and was even 
lenient towards the anarchists. His friends urged him 
to guard himself from madmen and fanatics, but after 
the attempt in Rome he said : '' These are the uncer- 
tainties of my position ; '' and he often remarked at 
Monza that he w^as destined to die like Alexander of 
Russia. He was much annoyed when the Carbinier! 
tried to protect him, and '' scorned a coat of mail over 
the breast he had exposed so bravely against the bullets 
of the Austrians at Custoza." 

The principal organ of the Italian press wrote the 
following day : " It is a solace in such painful circum- 
stances to note the love of the whole people for their 
martyred sovereign, and to see the government pass 
from the dead ruler's hand with such tranquillity. Even 
those cities w^hich seemed the least devoted to the State 
have manifested in a touching manner sorrow at the 
great loss. This terrible blow unites more closely all 
hearts. It centers all Italians around the White Cross 



Italy at the Present Day 287 

of Savoy." All felt the deepest sympathy also for their 
revered queen, and the same journal issued in its 
columns the following apostrophe to her : " Farewell, 
beloved Queen ! Thou hast passed into that retirement 
welcome to the sorrowing. In thy grief thy people 
weep with thee, thou great and beloved woman, who 
didst ever act for the interests of Italy and the Italian 
people, and the House of Savoy, as thy heroic ances- 
tors did before thee. Thou wert Beauty and Grace 
and the poetry of our youthful lives. Thou wert the 
worthy daughter of the * Great King ' as well as the 
courtly spouse of Humbert the Magnanimous ; and in 
heartfelt grief we bring this farewell." 

The funeral services over King Humbert's remains 
were celebrated even in the smallest villages by both 
the clergy and people; for, as Foscolo once said, 
" Death is a just dealer of honors." Although it had 
been Humbert's request to be buried in the Superga, the 
royal cemetery of the Savoyan kings, the Pantheon, 
that Roman temple consecrated to all the gods, now 
dedicated to all the kings of Italy, '' received under its 
mighty cupola, as if beneath a sphere of glory, the 
second King of Italy by the side of the first, the Great 
King, the liberator of his country." 

It is impossible to imagine a more rigorously con- 
stitutional king than Humbert L, the formula of 
modern constitutions, '' the king reigns but does not 
govern," being engraved upon his heart. He was in- 
capable of breaking an oath; and no constitutional 
sovereign of monarchical Europe, excepting England, 
exercised the regal power with such exactness as he 
did. 

When King Humbert first ascended the throne he 
was called the " hermetically sealed man " ; but after- 



288 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

wards he showed so much sympathy with his people 
in all their misfortunes that he was known by them as 
the *' :comforting king." A few years after his ac- 
cession there was an earthquake at Ischia, where he 
consoled the sufferers; and when an epidemic of 
cholera broke out in 1884, there were gayeties going on 
at Pordenone in which Humbert was about to join. 
Without hesitation, however, he said to his minister, 
Depretis : " They are making merry at Pordenone, at 
Naples they are dying. I am going to Naples." These 
words (a Pordenone si fa festa, a Napoli si muo, lo 
vado a Napoli) were written as an inscription on a 
monument erected in Naples in commemoration of 
this visit. At the time of this cholera panic, when all 
were paralyzed with fear and almost everybody de- 
serted the afflicted, the king's sympathetic conduct in 
mingling so freely with and giving consolation to the 
patients, especially at Busca and Naples, attracted the 
notice of the world. 

A picture by Nero Carnivale, representing King 
Humbert before the Hospice of Conocchi grasping the 
hand of a poor cholera-stricken lad, was presented to 
Queen Margherita in 1888 by the city of Naples. 

The king was accustomed to speak of his people as 
his Italian family, and, in order to serve them better he 
sacrificed his love for his country home at Monza and 
his rural sports, and carried on the duties of his office 
with punctilious exactness at Rome from November 
until late spring. The queen proved herself his noble 
companion in all their duties, being found wherever 
any good deed could be accomplished, and leading in 
all charitable and educational movements. 

King Humbert tried to relieve the bad conditions of 
the laboring class by putting into execution the pro- 



Italy at the Present Day 289 

gressive movements of the day. After the swamps in 
the delta of the Tiber were drained, and some of the 
workmen desired to occupy this drier locaHty as 
farmers, the king did all he could to help along the 
agricultural colony composing it, interesting himself 
in all the circumstances of their lives. These good 
Romagnola people, who have prospered ever since, 
speak of him with great pride and gratitude as their 
friend and benefactor. Notwithstanding all his efforts 
as a representative of a government which for years 
had kept the masses in poverty and ignorance. King 
Humbert was often blamed for the insufficient prog- 
ress with regard to the low social conditions; for 
since the landed property is still in the hands of the 
few, to the detriment of the many, the little plot of 
ground which every poor man covets for a home is not 
often a reality in Italy; and this is the reason of the 
great emigration annually. In addition to these griev- 
ances, the taxes to support royalty and to sustain the 
army are so exorbitant, that the question of ameliora- 
tion drives the patriots to despair and the fanatics to 
socialism and anarchy. 

After the funeral obsequies the queen retired to 
Turin. It was finally decided, however, by the court, 
that since in history Margherita will always be the first 
Queen of Italy, in the hearts of the Italians the mother 
of the people, and in the thoughts of the Vatican a 
symbol of piety and religion, it was best for her to take 
up her residence in Rome. 

After much discussion the Palace Piombino, a splen- 
did modern building well adapted for a court, was 
purchased and fitted up for her use; and during the 
Christmas season of 1900 she was welcomed back by 
a great ovation from the people and cordial demon- 



290 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

stration from the sorrowing court Although a fierce 
storm raged, the streets and balconies from the station 
to the Piombino Palace were decorated with flags and 
crowded with the populace. When Queen Margherita 
appeared on the balcony with her son and Queen 
Helene, to salute the people, they were answered with 
the cry of *' Viva il Re ! Viva Savoia ! '' meant to be 
a greeting to the new king as well as to the sorrowing 
queen returning home to her people. 

The Prince of Naples succeeded his father as Victor 
Emanuel III. The young king was born the nth of 
November, 1869, and for many years held his court 
in the Imperial Palace at Naples, while he at the same 
time kept up apartments in the resident portion of the 
Pitti Palace in Florence. He was called Victor Eman- 
uel from his paternal grandfather, Gennaro from the 
Protector of Naples, and Ferdinand after his maternal 
grandfather, the brave Duke of Genoa. In honor of 
the city where he first saw the light, and as an ex- 
ponent of Italian unity, he received the title of Prince 
of Naples. 

The first teacher of the Prince of Naples was his 
mother, and his tutor was Colonel Egidio Ossio, who 
also taught him military tactics. He learned the modern 
languages from other instructors, and is able, at the 
present time, to speak French, German and English 
fluently. Although the young prince was humored by 
his father and grandfather, Queen Margherita brought 
him up under strict regime. From the age of ten 
Prince Victor was made to rise at daybreak, and after 
a cold bath and a cup of broth he commenced his tasks. 
If he lingered in bed he was deprived of his bouillon 
until after his first lesson. His morning instruction 
being completed, he rode for an hour in all kinds of 




Victor Emaneul III. 



Italy at the Present Day 2gi 

weather. In fact the whole day was spent in study and 
exercise. Being an only child and without compan- 
ions, he was rather a lonely little fellow ; and for enter- 
tainment he used to drive with his English governess 
in the Borghese Park and on Mount Pincio, where he 
would wave his tiny hand in answer to the greetings 
of the multitude. Another amusement was building 
fortifications in the Quirinal grounds, and collecting 
medals, shells and flowers; and he also took great 
pleasure in amateur photography. 

His Majesty's military education was as near perfect 
as possible, he having been drilled in all the grades 
from corporal to colonel; and, although he has never 
experienced war, he has on several occasions exhibited 
great physical courage. 

On the 24th of October, 1896, Victor Emanuel III. 
married the Princess Helene, daughter of the King of 
Montenegro. She was a fair, pale-faced princess with 
a melancholy and Oriental beauty, and was bom at 
Cettinge, Montenegro, on the 8th of January, 1873. It 
was a love-match, the couple having met the summer 
before at Venice, at the Exposition of Fine Arts. Be- 
fore the marriage the princess transferred her member- 
ship from the Greek to the Roman Catholic Church, 
this ceremony taking place at the Basilica Palatina at 
Bari. The young people lived at Naples until King 
Humbert's death. 

The substantial qualities and wonderful culture of 
Victor Emanuel III. are very marked; and he has 
already distinguished himself as an able diplomatist. 
Until recently he has been considered somewhat ex- 
clusive; but travel and experience in the world have 
made him more frank and free than in his youth. He 
is a friend of all scientists and literary men and is 



292 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

much interested in everything that pertains to elec- 
tricity, being one of the first experimenters with the 
X-rays. His knowledge of geography and history 
is so extensive that when journeying in South Africa 
he acted as an encyclopedia for his whole retinue. An 
anecdote is told of how, when examined in history, 
in the presence of the king and queen and eminent 
professors, he selected for his theme the revolutionary 
movement of the first fifty years of the nineteenth 
century, amusing all by his frankness in dealing with 
the virtues and defects of his ancestors, his great- 
grandfather, Charles Albert and others. Nothing de- 
lighted him so much for a present when a small boy 
as an old out-of-date coin ; and he now has in his col- 
lection eighteen thousand; yet this is a thousand less 
in variety than were turned out of the mint at the 
time the kingdom was divided into so many petty 
sovereignties. 

The king has already shown himself worthy of the 
office to which he has been called, and ever sees clearly 
the duty which first lies before him. From Monza he 
delivered a proclamation exhibiting a sorrowing soul, 
and at the same time the spirit of one who refuses to 
be cast down. He said : " I wish to express how sure 
I feel that the institutions sacred to me, on account of 
the traditions of our house, and on account of the fer- 
vent love of Italy for them, will secure the prosperity 
and greatness of our country." In his own handwriting 
were added these words : " My God so help me, and 
the love of my people so comfort me, that I may be 
able to consecrate all my powers as king to the pro- 
tection of liberty and the monarchy and to the best 
interests of the country." 

In December, after the burial of King Humbert in 



Italy at the Present Day 293 

August, notwithstanding that his tomb had always been 
guarded, it was robbed of the Iron Crown and Collar 
of the Annunziata and other supposed valuables; but 
people forgot what a sacrilege it was, in their amuse- 
ment at the thought of how the thieves had been 
cheated — for the jewels were paste. 

On the first anniversary of the king's death, July 
29, 1901, numerous processions went to the Pan- 
theon to do honor to his memory. Of all the wreaths 
sent, only one was placed on his tomb, bearing the 
simple words : " From Margherita, Victor and Helene." 
The ceremonials are so much like those formerly 
held on the anniversary of Victor Emanuel II.'s death 
that the observance of the two has been from that 
time united on the 29th of July. In other cities, also, 
proper notice of the day was taken. At Monza on 
this anniversary the cornerstone of a chapel, erected 
to the memory of King Humbert, was laid on the 
spot where he fell. 

The first little Italian princess was born on the ist 
of June, 1901, her name being lolanda Margherita 
Romana Milena Maria. It seems hardly possible that 
a prince could at that time have been more enthusias- 
tically greeted by the queen and the people. The king 
sagely remarked : " Of course I should have been 
pleased had it been a prince, but as it is, I am extremely 
happy." On the joyful occasion of lolanda's birth 
a little cradle and baby's simple outfit were distributed 
to all children born in Italy on the same day, Queen 
Helene herself having superintended the work. With 
the layette one hundred liras were given to every poor 
baby. A procession of children carried flowers and 
greetings to the Quirinal. Victor Emanuel remem- 
bered especially the poor and unfortunate, and declared 



294 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

an amnesty in favor of offenders of the press and 
duelists. In due time the baby was baptized in the 
ballroom of the Quirinal, in the presence of the court. 
Public attention was centered in this tiny bit of royalty 
at a very early period of her existence, even Menelik 
sending four elephants' tusks, of unusual size and 
beauty, from far away South Africa, to serve as sup- 
ports for the royal cradle. 

In September, 1901, Victor Emanuel III. and Queen 
Helene left lolande in the care of her nurse and maids 
at Raconigi, one of their country seats, the old castle 
of Charles Albert, forty miles from Turin, and set out 
on their presentation journey among the different 
cities of Italy. Throughout the tour the character of 
the queen appeared in a most charming light and that 
of the king strong and sturdy. 

At Milan the king visited his old tutor, General 
Ossio, whom he had just made a count and who then 
lay dying; and together the sovereigns sought out 
Verdi's grave. Particular attention was paid by His 
Majesty to the electrical plant at Vizzola, one of the 
largest in the world. To furnish hydraulic force for 
the almost universal use of electricity in Italy much 
of the water supply formerly used in irrigation is now 
turned into water-falls, " White Coal," as they are 
called. It is estimated that this supply affords a po- 
tency of about five million horsepower. 

The enthusiasm and spontaneity of the greetings ex- 
tended to the sovereigns in 1901 in the metropolis, 
where three years before it was necessary to raise barri- 
cades, was an event of real importance. 

Nothing could be more solemn than the struggle of 
Francesco Crispi against death. His nature was like 
that of the tough oaks of Albania, whence his ancestors 




Queen Helene. 



Italy at the Present Day 295 

came to Sicily; and his life was a tenacious struggle 
to the last. On this account he had both friends and 
bitter enemies ; but finally all conceded that first of all 
a great man had died, perhaps the last great Italian 
of the classic period of Italy's regeneration. " History 
must often speak of him, and although she will be 
obliged to connect his name with the sad fame of 
Adowa, she will say that he loved Italy most passion- 
ately, that he longed to see her great and among the 
mightiest of the earth." When Alexander Fortis went 
to Naples to see the famous old man then battling with 
death, he exclaimed : " Thou art still a giant and we 
are but pygmies." This exclamation expressed the 
general impression produced in Italy and all over the 
world by his death, which occurred in Naples on the 
nth of August, 1901. 

After incessant activity in the government, Crispi 
had retired at the age of seventy-seven, heart-broken 
from personal abuse and party strife. Although his 
last years were far from joyful, he died serenely con- 
fident that justice would be accorded him by history. 
It might be said of Crispi as Carducci said of Gari- 
baldi, that above all he was an Italian and a man of 
liberty, a republican by birth and education. 

The second little Princess was born on November 
19, 1902. Her full name is Maf alda Maria Eliza- 
beth Anna Romana. The king distributed three hun- 
dred thousand liras in presents for hospitals and other 
charities on this occasion. 

There was the greatest rejoicing, when, on Septem- 
ber 15, 1904, a young prince was born. This event 
was much more than a domestic felicity, since through 
it the continuance of power in the House of Savoy 
was assured. The royal heir was named Humbert, 



296 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

and after much thought, in order to heal the breach 
between the Quirinal and Vatican, and silence party 
strife in many directions, he received the title of Prince 
of Piedmont, rather than that of Prince of Rome, as 
was at first discussed. To celebrate the birth of the 
princely baby the king granted amnesty to all de- 
serters, and, besides this, shortened the term of many 
prisoners. 

The delay of a prince has not been unprecedented 
in Italian histor>\ Victor Amadeus, the first king of 
the House of Savoy, waited fourteen years for an heir, 
during w^hich time there had been four princesses. But 
in the destiny of royal families and the politics of 
nations, princesses also have a place, and the women of 
Savoy have always proved worthy of the dynasty. 

The sovereigns lead a ver}' secluded life in their own 
apartments in the Quirinal, which on account of their 
simplicity many a Milanese citizen would not tolerate. 
Even the ladies-in-waiting seldom penetrate as far as 
Queen Helene's rooms, and the royal couple dine alone 
without a court. 

Among many modem improvements now constantly 
going on in Rome, a tunnel under the Quirinal was 
completed October 26, 1902. The appearance of the 
Quirinal Hill is unchanged; but the citizens of Rome 
are saved much time and strength by this short cut 
between the Via Nazionale and the Piazza di Spagna. 

An electric road is a thing in anticipation from 
Rome to Naples through the Pontine Marshes. This 
route will require only three hours instead of five, as 
formerly. It is almost identical with the ancient high- 
way of the time of Horace and Maecenas. 

On the other hand, it is sad to notice that here and 
there all over the peninsula old famiHar landmarks are 



Italy at the Present Day 297 

going to decay. Venice on account of her substructure 
is particularly susceptible to such changes. It is said 
that the old Doges' Palace is crumbling, while her 
splendid Campanile, founded in 888 a.d.^ succumbed to 
the ravages of time and fell on the 14th of July, 1902, 
greatly marring the historic and beautiful St. Mark's 
Square. A new structure, which will be an exact copy 
of the old Campanile, was begun in 1903 and will soon 
rise on the same spot. 

During the excavations, in 1903, some tombs were 
discovered under the Roman Forum between the 
Temple of Romulus and that of Antoninus and Faus- 
tina, indicating that a cemetery, over which the Romans 
built their temples, formerly existed beneath the level 
of the Via Sacra. This is supposed to be a burial place 
of the ancient Latins, antedating Romulus' and Remus' 
time. It is thought that the excavations still going on 
in 1905 will throw new light on the legendary period, 
confirming traditions which have been too readily cast 
aside. 

The completion of the work of piercing the Simplon 
Tunnel which connects Italy with Switzerland was 
signaled on February 25, 1905, by the ringing of 
church bells and firing of cannon. This tunnel is 
twelve miles long and has proved to be one of the 
greatest engineering achievements of the age. Im- 
mense difficulties were encountered during the process, 
hot springs sometimes raising the temperature to 131° 
Fahrenheit; and shifting material often blocked the 
way. This vast enterprise has been under way for 
nearly ten years. It was opened regularly to traffic 
April 2, amid the cries of "Long live Switzerland! 
Long live Italy ! " 

Giuseppi Zanardelli, several times president of the 



298 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Chamber of Deputies, died at Mademo near Brescia, 
on December 26, 1903, at the age of seventy-seven. 
He had held the office of premier without interruption 
since 1901. In April, 1903, he became seriously ill, 
but in June was able to reconstruct the cabinet. In 
the following August his illness assumed such propor- 
tions that his physicians counseled complete rest; but 
he continued as head of the ministry until the 20th of 
October, 1903, when he resigned, and Giolitte, first 
made president of the Chamber of Deputies at the 
time of the Abyssinian War, and a close adherent of 
the Zanardelli policy, was charged with forming a new 
ministry. He assumed the office of premier on No- 
vember 3, 1903. 

The King and Queen of Italy's visit to Paris the 
middle of October, 1903, together with their journey 
to England a month later, was considered an event of 
marked political significance, many thinking that it was 
about to modify the long-established Triple Alliance, 
while others prophesied that the drawing together of 
these nations would result in the unity of all the great 
powers on a firmer foundation of peace. 

The first friendly demonstrations on the part of 
France, after the coolness existing so long, was in 1899, 
when the French squadron visited King Humbert in 
Sardinian waters. The Festival at Toulon in April, 
1 901, was the counterpart of the courtesies exchanged 
at Calieri in 1899. On the occasion of the fetes at 
Toulon King Victor Emanuel III. sent President 
Loubet, who was himself present, an autograph letter, 
together with the Collar of the Annunziata, which in 
itself is an undeniable seal of intimacy and always con- 
sidered a talisman against antagonisms resulting in 
war. 



Italy at the Present Day 299 

Great preparations were made in Paris for the royal 
visit of 1903. Two lines of militia were posted along 
the entire route of the procession, stretching from 
the station along the flag-bedecked Avenue Bois de 
Boulogne, through the Arc de Triomphe and Champs 
Elysees to the Place de la Concorde, where the batter- 
ies thundered an official welcome. The entire week 
was spent in fetes and festivals in honor of the king 
and queen ; and the entente cordiale established by their 
visit was most satisfactory. The king on leaving gave 
ten thousand dollars for the poor of Paris and six 
thousand especially for needy Italians. 

The reception and entertainment of the Italian 
sovereigns in England was no less hearty, as the deaf- 
ening salutes from the warships indicated, when their 
yacht steamed out of Portsmouth for Cherbourg on 
their departure for Italy, the 21st of November, the 
tumultuous expressions of regard denoting that these 
nations were in great accord. The queens embraced 
each other affectionately on parting at Windsor, while 
the kings clasped hands with fervor in token of lasting 
friendship. 

The warmth of these demonstrations re-echo the 
sentiment of the proclamation which was issued in 
Milan two years before at the time of the first royal 
visit of the King and Queen of Italy throughout their 
own land. " Milan on this solemn occasion extends 
to the head of the State and to her gracious queen re- 
spectful homage. The king, who finds it a pleasure 
as well as a duty to study the social questions of the 
day, will feel encouraged by the vigorous development 
of our strong, flourishing economic life, the fruit of 
the indefatigable activity on the part of the citizens. 
We have an indestructible faith in the destiny of the 



300 Italy: Her People and Their Story 

Fatherland, wrought out by the bravery of her sons, 
and we feel that Italy, by developing all her latent 
forces, will gain that glorious position which is sure 
finally to distinguish her among the nations." 

The feeling exhibited in this document, which dem- 
onstrated both the fidelity of the nation to the king 
and their enduring faith in the institutions of the 
State, found a manifest response in the festivities of 
Paris and London. 

The popularity of these youthful sovereigns was no 
doubt intensified by the wisdom of the king and the 
dignity of Queen Helene, developed by the tragedy at 
Monza. The discretion evinced by both from the time 
of that overwhelming calamity made a great impres- 
sion not only on their own people, but on foreign na- 
tions all over the world. 

His great kindness of heart and real loyalty to his 
subjects was shown by King Victor Emanuel III. at 
the time of the great earthquake in Sicily and on the 
adjacent coast during the last days of December, 1908, 
when several hundred thousand people lost their lives 
and thousands were left crazed, homeless^ and desti- 
tute. The king and queen encountered at this time 
every peril and endured great hardship in order to be 
with and comfort their distressed people. 

It has been said that the great capital of Italy at 
its origin was thus named because the word " Roma " 
signified strength ; but what spirit of augury found in 
prophets' or soothsayers' breasts could have foretold 
an endurance like that of the Eternal City! She sits 
as of old on her Seven Hills; and, though she no 
longer from her " throne of beauty " rules the world, 
still the little hamlet Romulus first espied from his tiny 



Italy at the Present Day 301 

cradle-bark never gave up its ground. Tough as the 
gnarled oak and strong as iron sinews, when con- 
quered she rose again in renewed magnificence. Rome 
then was Italy, the Hesperia of ancient days. For 
many centuries, however, Italy has swallowed up 
Rome; and in doing this she has kept within herself 
all the buoyancy of her gay capital. Thus, in view of 
her elasticity, spirit of emulation and great fortitude, 
it is easy for any modern seer to predict that before 
many centuries shall have passed the " Land of Art 
and Song" will again become a gigantic force in the 
world; for enlightenment and freedom and, above 
all, education, added to instinctive culture, are sure to 
reanimate her flickering embers and make of Italy a 
nation fit to lead the world. 



INDEX 



Aberdeen, Lord, 198 
Abruzzi, Duke of, 251; trip 

to North Pole, 252 
Abyssinian War, 265 
Achaia, Prince of, 269 
Adelaide, wife of Humbert 

of the White Hand, 131 
Adelaide, wife of Victor 
Emanuel II., 190; death, 
197 
Adigrat, 268; prisoners at, 

269 
Adorno, Antonio, 114; suc- 
ceeds Ottaviano Fregoso, 
117; removed from Genoa 
by French, 121 
Adowah, Battle of, 268 
yEneas Sylvius {see Pope 

Pius II.), 84 
Age of the Despots, 24 
Age of Invasion, 94 
Agordat, defeat of Der- 
vishes at, 268 
Aistolphus, Lombard king, 7 
Aix La Chapelle, Peace of, 

141 
Alberich of Spoleto, husband 

of Marozia, 13 
Alberich, Marozia's son, 13 
Alberico da Barbiano, 61 
Alberoni, Cardinal, 169 
Albertone, General, 269 
Albigenses, 127 



Albizzi, 79; Rinaldo, 81; 
overcome by Medici, 82 

Alboin, 6 

Albornoz, Cardinal, 67 

Alcazar, Francis I., impris- 
oned at, 119 

Aleardi, Aleardo, 277 

Alessandria, 27 

Alexander III., Pope, 27 

Alexander IV., Pope, 35; 
death, 37 

Alexander V., Pope, y6 

Alexander VI., Pope, Rod- 
rigo Borgia, 94; excom- 
municates Savonarola, 97 ; 
admits Charles VIIL, loi; 
death, 105 

Alexander, Clement VII.'s 
nephew, 122 

Alfieri, Vittorio, 146, 271 

Alphonso v., the Magnani- 
mous, 60 

Alphonso X., of Castile, y7 

Alphonso I., of Naples, 98; 
flight to Sicily, loi 

Alphonso di BisegHa, 106 

Alphonso d'Este, 106 

Alphonso la Marmora, 192; 
in the Crimea, 197; in- 
terviews Bismarck, 224 ; 
death, 238 

Amadeus VIIL, Duke of 
Savoy, 131 ; abdicates and 



303 



304 



Index 



becomes anti-Pope, resigns 
again, 132 
Amadeus, son of Victor 
Emanuel II., 241; death, 

251 

Amalfi, independence of, 17; 
crippled, 20; attacked by 
Pisa, 24 

Amari, historic writer, 276 

Amba, Alagi, 268 

d'Amicis, Edmondo, 278 ; 
fame of, 279 

Anagni, Boniface VIIL, im- 
prisoned at, 45 

Anconian republic, 153 

Andrea Doria, 121 

Andrea, nephew of Dante, 

49 
Andrew, 58 
Anjou, Charles of, Senator 

in Rome, 37; King of 

Two SiciHes, 38; retires 

from Sicily, 44 
Aniello, Tomaso {see Ma- 

saniello), 135 
Annaibbaldi, 44 
Anne, sister of Gian Gastone, 

137 

d'Annunzio, Gabriele, 278 

Antologia Archivio Storico 
Italiano, 276 

Antonio, assassin of Lo- 
renzo di Medici, 88 

Antonio di Venassio of Si- 
ena, 105 

Apulian Duchy, formation 
of, 19 

Aquilea, retained by Austria, 
226 

Aquitania, divided between 
sons of Charles Martel, 10 



Arabbiati, 97, 102 

Aracoeli, Church of, 35 

Arch of Triumph in Paris, 
150 

Arch, triumphal, in Milan, 
150 

Areola, Battle of, 151 

Arcos, Duke of, 136 

Arduin, Magnus, of Ivrea, 
18 

Argentine Republic, Italian 
Colony in, 261 

Arimondi, General, 269 

Ariosto, 112 

Arlotti, Jacob, captain, in 
Rome, 56 

Armillini, 188 

Army, modern Italian, 257 

Arnold da Brescia, 24; 
Burned alive, 26 

Arnulf, 12 

Assab Bay, 265 

Asti, destroyed by Barba- 
rossa, 25 

Austerlitz, Battle of, 159 

Austria, at war with Napo- 
leon Bonaparte, 147-166; 
takes possession of all con- 
stitutional cities in Italy, 
173 ; takes Sardinia, 181 ; 
forced to retreat, 182; vic- 
torious, 188; takes Venice, 
191 ; arraigned at Paris 
Congress, 197 ; defeated, 
203; again at war with 
Italy, 224; defeated by 
Prussians, 225 

Austrian Succession, War 
of, 140 

Avellino, people of, demand 
Constitution, 172 



Index 



305 



Avignon, Babylonian Cap- 
tivity at, 53 



Babylonian Captivity, 53; 

length of, 75 
Baglione, Malatesta, 123 
Baglione of Perugia, 105 
Balbo, author, 276 
Baldissera, General, 269 
Balia, the first, 80 
Ballot, modern Italian, 263 
Bamberga, Castle of, 14 
Bandini, Bernardo, assassin, 

88 
Baratieri, General', 268 ; 

court-martialed, 269 
Barbarossa, Frederick, called 

into Italy, 25; destruction 

of Milan, 26; beaten at 

Legnano, 27; drowned, 29 
Barbiano, Count of, 74 
Bartollini, Lorenzo, sculptor, 

280 
Battista, Giovanni, assassin, 

88 
Beatrice, mother of Countess 

Mathilda, 21 
Beatrice, wife of Charles of 

Anjou, 37 
Beatrice, Dante's ideal, 46 
Beatrice, wife of Charles of 

Sicily, 131 
Beatrice, daughter of Her- 
cules III., 145 
Belisarius; 5 

Bellini, the musician, 280, 281 
Bembo, Pietro, author, 112 
Benedict XIL, 58 
Benedict XIIL, Anti-Pope, 

76 



Bentivegna, Baron Fran- 
cesco, 198 

Bentivoglio of Bologna, 105; 
wife of, rebuked by Sav- 
onarola, 96 

Berchet, Giovanni, a poet, 
274 

Berengarius I., 12 

Berengarius II., 13 

Bergamo, Garibaldi enters, 
203 

Berlin Congress, 242 

Bernabo Visconti, 70; mur- 
der of, 72 

Bertani, Agostino, 207 

Bigi, the, 103 

Bismarck, favors alliance 
with Italy, 224 

Bixo, Nino, General, 207, 
229 

Black Band, 118 

Boccaccio, Giovanni, 6^^ 64 

Bocca degli Abati betrays 
Florence, 36 

Boethius, the philosopher, 4 

Boito, Arrigo, the musician, 
282 

Bologna, conspicuous as a 
city, 23 

Bomba {see Ferdinand II. of 
Two Sicilies) 

Bombino {see Francis II. of 
Two Sicilies) 

Bona of Savoy, 90 

Bonaparte, Napoleon {see 
Napoleon) 

Bonaparte, Pauline, 164 

Bonaparte, Young, 176 

Bonaparte, Jerome, in Italy, 
228 

Boniface VIII., Pope, 44; 



3o6 



Index 



makes 1300 Jubilee year, 

45, 57 

Boniface IX., 74 

Bonnivard, 132 

Bonnivet, Guillaume de, 118; 
slain, 119 

Borges, Don Jose, 215 

Borghese, Count, 164 

Borghese Villa, 164 

Borgia, Rodrigo {see Alex- 
ander VI.) 

Borgia, Cesare, 94; ad- 
vancement of, 103; mas- 
sacres the Orsini, 105; 
legend in connection with, 
106 

Borgia, Lucretia, 94; char- 
acter of, 106 

Boso of Provence, 131 

Bosphorus, sea-fight on the, 

75 

Botta, the historian, exiled, 
156 

Bourbons, expulsion of, 159 

Bovines, Battle of, 31 

Bracciano, Castle of, 56 

Braccio da Montone, yy; 
method of warfare, 83 

Bramanti, 109 

Brancaleone of Andolo, 34; 
Senator at Rome, 35; 
death, 2>7 

Brescia, Charles Albert de- 
fends, 187 

Brigandage in Italy, 215 

Buondelmonti, 30 

Cabinet, modern Italian, 255 
Cadorna, General, 229 
Calabria, part of Two Sici- 
lies, 20 



Calabria, Duke of, 58 
Calvin, 116 
Calycadmus, 29 
Cambray, Peace of, 122 
Campaldino, Battle of, 46 
Campanile, fall of, at Venice, 

297 
Campo Formio, Peace of, 

153 

Can Grande della Scala, 47, 49 

Canosa, 174 

Canossa, 21 

Canova, Antonio, 279 

Cantu, 276 

Capocci, Angelo, Captain of 
Roman republic, 38 

Capponi Neri, 96; Piero, 
99; patriotic writer, 276 

Capponi Nicolo, Gonfalo- 
niere of Florence, 122 

Caprera, Garibaldi retires to, 
212; death of Garibaldi at, 
242 

Capri, annexed to Naples, 
160 

Caprona, Dante at, 46 

Capua, fortress of, taken by 
Italians, 212 

Carbinieri, 255 

Carbonari, 171 

Carducci, Giosue, 277 

Caroccio, origin of, 18 

Caroline, Queen, 157; im- 
plores intercession of Czar, 
158; incites Revolution, 
161; banished by English, 
164 

Carraresi, despots in Padua, 

55 
Casale, ceded to Victor 
Amadeus II., 136 



Index 



307 



Castelfidardo, Papal army 

beaten at, 210 
Castracani, Castruccio, 57 
Castrucci, tyrants in Lucca, 

55 
Catalafimi, victory at, 208 
Cateau-Cambresis, Peace of, 

130, 133 
Catherine, wife of Charles 

Emanuel the Great, 134 
Cavallo, Leon, musician, 282 
Cavalotti, author, 270 
Cavour, Camillo Benso di, 
178; begins his reforms, 
196; in Paris, 197; ar- 
ranges with Napoleon IIL, 
199; labors for govern- 
ment, 200; cedes Savoy to 
Napoleon, 205; as a 
statesman, 217; illness, 
218; death, 219; affection 
and confidence in Victor 
Emanuel, 220 
Celestin IIL, Pope, 56 
Cellini, Benevenuto, 112 
Cenis, Mont, Barbarossa 
flees across, 27; French 
cross, 118 
Censors, chosen, 75 
Cerignola, Battle of, 104 
Certosa di Pavia, 72 
Chamber of Deputies, mod- 
ern, 254 
Charlemagne, 10; crowned 

Emperor, 11 
Charles Martel, 10 
Charles the Fat, 12 
Charles of Valois, 45 
Charles IIL (see Durazza) 
Charles IV., of Germany, 67 
Charles VIIL, of France, in- 



vited to enter Italy, 99; 
accepts terms in Florence, 
100 ; enemies of, loi ; re- 
tires from Italy, 102; 
death, 103 
Charles V., or Charles IL, 
of Spain, 115; receives 
,duchy of Milan from 
Sforza, 116; Venice unites 
with, 117; circumvents the 
French, 118; forces Flor- 
ence to let back the Med- 
ici, 123; surrenders rule 
to his son, 125 ; dies, 136 
Charles of Bourbon (see 

Great Constable) 
Charles IIL, of Savoy, 132 
Charles Emanuel, the Great, 
133; lays claim to throne 
of France, 134 
Charles Emanuel IL, 135 
Charles VL, of Austria, 137 
Charles Emanuel IIL, 138; 
enters into Treaty of Vi- 
enna, 139; joins Maria 
Theresa, 140; virtues and 
characteristics, 142 
Charles IIL, of Spain, Don 

Carlos, 139, 144 
Charles VIL, of Two Sici- 
lies, 139, 144 
Charles Emanuel IV, with- 
draws to Sardinia, 155 
Charles IV, of Spain, 159 
Charles Albert, regent for 
Charles Felix, 173; sent 
to Spain, 175; succeeds to 
throne, 176; urged to up- 
hold the liberals, 178; re- 
sents oppression of Aus- 
tria, 180; takes a stand for 



3o8 



Index 



freedom of Italy, 185; de- 
feat, 185 ; continues to 
fight, 188; abdicates, 188 

Charles Felix, 173; death, 
176 

Chevalier Bayard, 118 

Chinaglia, President of 
Chamber, 271 

Chioggia, Naval Battle at, 

78 

Chivasso, 131 

Church and State, 230; re- 
lation of Leo XIII. to, 
246; possible effect of 
election of Piu3 X., 249, 
250 ; greater friendliness 
of, 259 

Christian II. of Denmark, 
116 

Christina, wife of Francesco 
Sforza, 116 

Christina, v^ife of Victor 
Amadeus I., 135 

Cialdini, General, 203 ; sent 
against Garibaldi, 210 

Cimabue, 63 

Ciprian, brigand, 216 

Circe, 219 

Cisalpine republic, 153; re- 
established, 158 

Cispadane republic, 151 

Cities, Rise of, 17 

Civita Vecchia, 192 

Civitella, Battle of, 19 

Clarendon, Lord, 198 

Clarence, Duke of, 71 

Clement IV., Pope, 38 

Clement V., Pope, com- 
mences Babylonian Cap- 
tivity, 53 

Clement VI., Pope, 58; aids 



Joanna, 59; upholds Ri- 
enzi, 65 

Clement VIL, Anti-Pope, 76 

Clement VIL, Pope, 120; 
capture of, 122; Florence 
prey of, 123; death of, 
124 

Clement XIV. hurls bull 
against Jesuits, 127, 144 

Clement XII. gives permis- 
sion to destroy San Ma- 
rino, 169 

Clothilde, daughter of Vic- 
tor Emanuel IL, 199 

Clovis, the Frank, 4 

Cluny, regime, 22 

Coatit, 268 

Colonna, family of, 44; Sci- 
arra, 44, 55; arms of, 55, 
56; Rienzi at war with, 
65; Stephen, 65; Otto, 78 

Colonna, Fabriccio, 108 

Colonna, Prospero, taken 
prisoner, 114; overcomes 
French, 118 

Colonna, Stephen, 123 

Columbus, 104 

Comagnola, Francesco, 82 

Commune, 23 

Company of St. George, 61 

Conclave of Cardinals, to 
elect Leo XIIL, 240; to 
elect Pius X., 247 

Concordat of Worms, 2^ 

Congress of Paris, 197 

Conrad IL, 18 

Conrad III., 24 

Conrad IV., 34 

Conradin, 38 

Constance, 29 

Constance, council at, T7 



Index 



309 



Coreggi, despots at Cremona, 

74 

Corneto, siege of, 2>7 

Corte Nuova, defeat of Mi- 
lanese at, 33, 69 

Corrente, author, 2y6 

Council of Ten, Decemvirs, 
48 

Crescentius, ruler in Rome, 

15 

Crimean War, Piedmont in, 
197 

Crispi, Francesco, hopes of 
Italian freedom of, 178; 
encourages Garibaldi, 207; 
as prime minister, 266; as 
a journalist and statesman, 
267; failure and resigna- 
tion, 269; death of, 295 

Croce, Church of Santa, in 
Florence, 52 

Custoza, first defeat at, 184; 
second defeat at, 225 

Czarnowsky, 188 

Dabormida, General, 269 

Dante, reference to, 36; con- 
version of, 45; love for 
Beatrice, 46; exile of, 47; 
wanderings of, 48; Divina 
Commedia of, 49; per- 
sonal appearance of, 51 ; 
death of, 52 

Delia Scala, family, 73 

Delia Torre, Napoleone Pa- 
gano, 69 

Depretis, 237; death of, 266 

Dervishes, 268 

Desaix, General, 158 

Desiderius, 7; overcome by 
Charlemagne, 10 



d'Este, family, 7Z 

Divina Commedia, 49 

Dominicans, 31 

Donati Corso, 45; father-in- 
law of Dante, 47; killed, 
48 

Don Henry, senator of 
Rome, 38 

Donizetti, 280; style of, 281 

Doria, despots in Genoa, 55; 
Luciano, 78 

Dunbowski, scientist, 283 

Durazza, Charles, 59 



Education in Italy, modern, 

262 
Edward III/s troops in 

Italy, 75 
Eight of War, 79 
Eleanor, Queen of Henry 

III. of England, 131 
Eliza, sister of Napoleon 

Bonaparte, 161 
Emanuele, Duke of Aosta, 

251 
Emigration from Italy, 260 
England takes a stand for 

Italy, 214; royal couple 

visit, 299 
Enzio, 34 
Erythrea, African colony of, 

261, 266 
Estensi, despots in Ferrara, 

55 
Etruria, kingdom of, 158, 161 
Eugene IV., Pope, 78 
Eugene Beauharnais, 159; 

obliged to surrender, 167 
Eugene of Savoy, Prince, 

137 



3IO 



Index 



Exarchs, 6 

Ezzelino da Romano, 32; 
death of, 34 



Facino Cane, 74 

Farnese, family, 124; Eliza- 
beth, 137 

Farini, statesman, 221 

Fedrigo, Duke of Urbino, 90 

Fedrigo, Confaloniere, 174 

Felix v., Anti-Pope {see 
Amadeus VII.) 

Ferdinand I., of Naples, 90; 
death of, 99 

Ferdinand II., of Naples; 
flight of, loi; death, 102 

Ferdinand the Catholic, of 
Spain, 104; joins League 
of Cambray, 107; joins 
Holy League, 108; death, 

115 
Ferdinand of Germany, 

Duke, 118 
Ferdinand II., of Spain, 125 
Ferdinand VI., of Spain, 

139 

Ferdinand IV., of Naples, 
139, 145; defies Napoleon, 
155; retires to Sicily, 156; 
raises insurrection, 158; 
exiled, 160; abdicates, 164; 
recommences rule as 

Ferdinand I., of Two Sici- 
lies, 170; grants Constitu- 
tion, 172; reinstated, 173; 
death of, 174 

Ferdinand of Austria, 142, 
145 

Ferdinand III., Grand Duke 
of Tuscany, 169 



Ferdinand II., of Two Sici- 
lies, 174; promises Con- 
stitution, 181 ; retires from 
alliance with Charles Al- 
bert, 185; victorious, 186; 
defeated at Palestrina, 
192; oppression of, 198; 
death of, 206 
Ferdinand I., of Austria, 179 
Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa, 

197 
Fernando da Gonzaga, 125 
Fieschi, Conspiracy of the, 

135 
Filibert, Emanuel, Duke of 
Savoy, 130 ; achievements 
of, 133 
Filippo Maria Visconti, 74 
Fiorentino, Castle of, 34 
Florence, as a republic, 24; 
Guelphs and Ghibellines 
in, 30; barely escapes de- 
struction, 36; Constitution 
of, 40; oppression of, 58; 
rise of the Medici, 79; 
rule of the Magnifico in, 
89; under power of Savo- 
narola, 96; expels Medici 
and receives French, 100; 
again in hands of, 108; 
renewed struggles with the 
Medici in, 122; republican 
spirit crushed out in, 124; 
capital of Italy, 223 
Fontainebleau, Pius VII. im- 
prisoned at, 161 
Formusus, Pope, 13 
Foscolo, Ugo, author, 272 
Fra Ilario, 50 

Fra Monreale, 61; under 
Rienzi, 6y 



Index 



3" 



Francesca da Rimini, 55 
Francesco di Carrara, 74 
Francis I., of France, 114; 
claims Roman Empire, 
115; driven out of Em- 
pire, 117; imprisoned, 119; 
joins Holy League, 121 
France recognizes Victor 

Emanuel IL, 214 
Francesco, Ferruccio, 123 
Francis of Lorraine, 140, 141 
Francis IV., son of Beatrice 

d'Este, 169 
Francis IL, of Austria, 170; 

death, 179 
Francis L, of Two Sicilies, 

174 

Francis of Modena, 175; 
restored, 176 

Francis Joseph of Austria, 
204 

Francis XL, of Two Sicilies, 
207; refuses alliance with 
Cavour, 211; driven to 
flight, 213; supports male- 
factors, 216 

Franciscans, 31 

Frederick IL, Emperor, 29; 
ruler of the world, 31 ; 
death of, 34 

Frederick of Aragon, 54 

Frederick the Fair, 57 

Frederick III., 84; crowned 
by Pope Nicholas, 85 

Frederick of Naples, 104 

Frederick the Great, 140 

Free Companies, 61 

French withdraw from Rome, 
226 

Freundsberg, General, 119; 
death of, 120 



Gaeta, City of, 20; French 
withdraw fleet from, 212 

Gaetani, 56 

Galileo, 126 

Galliano, Major, 268 

Garganza, Castle of, 47 

Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 179 ; 
early activity of, 187; put 
in command of Roman 
forces, 192; defeat and 
escape, 193 ; quarrels with 
Cavour, 205 ; leads Sici- 
lian expedition, 207; suc- 
cess, 208; enters Naples, 
209; argues with Cavour, 
211; retires to Caprera, 
212; reconciled to Cavour, 
214; is wounded, 222; in 
the Tyrol, 224; under 
guard, 226; escapes and is 
recaptured, 227; in Parlia- 
ment, 235; death of, 242 

Gaston de Fois, 108 

Gelimar, the Vandal, 5 

Genoa, 20, 23 ; contentions 
with Pisa, 42; competi- 
tion with Venice, 75 ; loses 
power, 78 

Gerbert (see Sylvester IL) 

Gheradesca, Count, 43 

Gian Galeazzo (see Vis- 
conti) 

Gian Gastone, 137 

Gioberti, Vincenzo, 196; 
works of, 276 

Giotto, 63 

Giovanni di Polenta, 55 

Giuseppe la Farina, 207 

Giusti, Giuseppe, 275 

Gladstone, 198 

Godfrey of Lorraine, 22 



312 



Index 



Goito, Bridge of Victory at, 
184; Victor Emanuel, 120 

Gonsalvo da Cordova, 104; 
treachery of, 106 

Gonzago, tyrants in Mantua, 

7Z 

Graf, Arthur, 278 

Grandella, Battle of, 38 

Gravina Palace, 105 

Great Company, 62 

Great Constable (Charles of 
Bourbon), 117; victorious, 
119; killed, 120 

Gregory III., the Great, 7; 
piety of, 9 

Gregory V., 15 

Gregory VIL, 21, 22 

Gregory IX., 32 

Gregory X., 39 

Gregory XL, 75 

Gregory XII., 76 

Gregory XIII., 127 

Gregory XVI., 176 

Grenoble, Fortress of, 122 

Grimoald, 7 

Grisons, 134 

Grossi, Tomaso, 275 

Guelphs and Ghibellines, 25; 
confusion of, 31, 54 

Guerazzi, Menco, 275 

Guibert, Archbishop of Ra- 
venna, 22 

Guicciardini, 113 

Guido da Polenta, 51 

Guillaume di Bonnivet, 118 

Guise, Duke of, 134 

Hadrian IV., 26 
Hadrian VI., 117 
Hadrumentum, 273 
Hamilton, Lady, 156 



Hauteville, 20, 60 

Hawkwood, Sir John, 62\ 
assists Florence, 79 

Hayez, 280 

Haynau, 191 

Helene, Queen of Italy, 291 

Henry II., of Bavaria, 18 

Henry III., 19 

Henry IV., 21; death of, 23 

Henry V., 23 

Henry VL, 29 

Henry VIL, crosses into 
Italy, 53; death, 54 

Henry VIIL, of England, 
108 

Henry of Navarre, IV., of 
France, 134 

Hercules III., Duke of Mo- 
dena, 145 

Heribert, 18 

Hildebrand {see Gregory 
VIL), 20 

Holy League, 119, 121 

Holy See, 20 

Honorius HI., Pope, 31 

Hugh of Provence, 13 

Huguenots, 134 

Humbert of the White 
Hand, 131 

Humbert L, 240; early life 
of, 241 ; assassination of, 
285; mourning for, 2^y\ 
kindness of, 288; memori- 
als to, 293 

Humbert, Prince of Pied- 
mont, 296 

Huss, John, 78 

Illyria, 2>7^ 

Illyrian War, 118; colonies, 
war with, 181 



Index 



313 



Induno, Domenico Girolamo, 

artist, 280 
Innocent III., Pope, 29 
Innocent VL, 67 
Innocent VIIL, 90; death of, 

94 
Inquisition, 126 
lolanda, wife of Frederick 

II., 32 
lolanda, Princess, 293 
Ionian Islands, 129 
Ippolito, 122 
Iron Crown of Lombardy, 

25, 226 
Isabel, wife of Gian Ga- 

leazzo Visconti, 71 
Isabella of Spain, 115 
Ischia, Island of, loi 
Italian republic, 158 
Ivrea, Margraf of, 131 
Ivry, Battle of, 134 

James of Aragon, 59 

Jean d'Arc, 32 

Jesuits, 126; repressed, 144; 

re-established, 168 
Joanna, 58 
Joanna IL, 60 
Joanna, mother of Charles 

v., 115 
John XIL, Pope, 14 
John X., 15 
John of Brienne, 32 
John of Procida, 43 
John XXIL, 55 
John XXIII., 77 
John, Negus of Abyssinia, 

265 
Joseph of Austria, death of, 

137 
Joseph IL, of Austria, 144 



Joseph, King of Naples, of 

Spain, 60 
Josephine, 159 
Julius IL, Pope, 106; forms 

Holy League, 108; death 

of, 109 
Julius III., Pope, 125 
Justin IL, 6 
Justinian, 4; death of, 6 

Kassala, 268 

Khartoum, 265 

Koniggratz, Prussian success 

at, 225 
Kunimund, 7 

Ladislaus, 59 ; height of 

power of, 77 
Lafala, brigand, 216 
La Marmora (see Alphonso 

la Marmora) 
La Farina, Giuseppe, 207 
Lamoriciere, capitulation of, 

210 
Lambert, 12 
Landi, General, 208 
Lando, Count, 61 
Lanza, 221 
Latini Brunetto, 46 
Laura, 63 
League of Cambray, 107; 

broken up, 108 
Leghorn, 152 
Legnano, Battle at, 27 
Leo III., Pope, 10 
Leo IX., 19, 26 
Leo X., Giovanni di Medici, 

109; Golden Age of, 112; 

death, 116 
Leo XIL, opens Holy Door, 

244 



314 



Index 



Leo XIIL, appointed Pope, 
240; opens Holy Door, 
244 ; twenty-fifth anniver- 
sary of, 245; death of, 
245 ; ceremonies attending 
funeral of, 246 

Leonardo da Vinci, iii 

Leonine City, 230 

Leonora, 113 

Leopardi, Giacomo, 273 

Leopold of Austria, 136 

Leopold II., 141 ; promises 
Constitution, 181 

Lepanto, Battle of, 128 

Leyback, Alliance at, 172 

Ligurian republic, 153 

Lissa, defeat at, 225 

Liutprand, 7 

Loches, Castle of, 103 

Lodi, 25; Peace of, 86; 
Battle of, 150 

Loeben, 152 

Lombard League, 27 

Lombards, 6, 17 

Lombardy, 145 

Lothair, 11 

Lothair IL, 13 

Louis the Pious, 11 

Louis II., II 

Louis IX., of France, 2>7 

Louis IV., of Bavaria, 57 

Louis of Taranta, 59 

Louis of Hungary, 59 

Louis, Duke of Anjou, 59 

Louis III., 59 

Louis XL, 90 

Louis XII., 103; in Milan, 
104; death of, 114 

Louis of Savoy, son of 
Amadeus VIII., 132 

Louis XIIL, 134 



Louis XIV., 135 

Louis XV., 139 

Louis Philippe, 175 

Louise of Savoy, 117 

Loyola, Ignatius, 126 

Lucca, 169 

Luigi, Duke of Abruzzi {see 

Abruzzi) 
Luneville, Treaty of, 158 

Machiavelli, 113 

Mafalda, Princess, 295 

Mafia, 271 

Magenta, Battle of, 203; 

Humbert I. at, 241 
Magione, Diet of, 105 
IMakaleh, 268 
Malaspina, Dante visits, 49; 

historians, 63 
Malatesta, despots at Rimini, 

55; at Brescia, 74 
Mameli, Goffredo, poet, 193 
Manfred, 36, 2>7 
Manfredi, despots in Fa- 

enza, 55 
Manin, Daniele, 182; dies in 

exile, 191 
Manini, Luigi, 152 
Manno, author, 276 
Manzoni, Alexander, 273 
Marconi, 283 
Mareb-Belesae, Muna Line, 

269 
Marengo, Battle of, 158 
Margaret, wife of Ottaviano, 

125 
Margaret, wife of Louis IX. 

of France, 131 
Margaret, wife of Emanuel 

Filibert, 133 ; and daughter 

of Francis L, 134 



Index 



315 



Margherita, Queen, marriage 

of Humbert to, 241 ; eu- 
logy of, 287; honors for, 

289 
Maria in Carignano, 42 
Maria Caroline of Austria, 

145 {see Caroline) 
Maria Theresa, 139; King of 

Sardinia makes alliance 

with, 140 
Maria Therese, mother of 

Victor Emanuel IL, 197 
Maria Christina, mother of 

Francis IL, of Naples, 

207 
Maria, ex-queen of Naples, 

213 
Marie Antoinette, 145 
Marie Louise, 168 
Marignano, 7Z\ Battle of, 

115 
Marinus, 2>7Z\ Saint, 169 
Marlborough, 137 
Marochetti, sculptor, 280 
Marozia, 13 
Marsala, 208 
Marshal de Lautrec, 121 
Martin IV., Pope, 44 
Martin V., 78 
Martin Luther, 116 
Mary Adelaide of Ranieri, 

241 {see Adelaide) 
Mary of Burgundy, 115 
Masaniello {see Aniello), 

135 
Mascagni, 282 
Massaccio, 86 
Massimo d'Azeglio, 180; 

sayings of, 257, 259; as 

a writer, 275 
Massowah, 265 



Mathilda, Countess of Tus- 
cany, 21 

Maurienne, Counts of, 130 

Maximilian, 108 

Mazarin, 145 

Mazzini, Giuseppe, 177 ; 
hides in London, 178; 
death of, 22,6] brief biog- 
raphy of, 237; as a writer, 
276 

Medici, Alessandro de', 124 

Medici, Cosimo de', 81 ; 
prosperity introduced by, 
86; death of, 87 

Medici, Cosimo de', 124 

Medici, Giovanni de', 81 

Medici, Giovanni de', Leo 
X., 91 ; ascends Papal 
throne, 104; grants in- 
dulgences, no; encourages 
art, in; death of, 117 

Medici, Giovanni de', of the 
Black Band, 118 

Medici, Giovanni Gaston, 125 

Medici, Giuliano de', 87; 
murdered, 88 

Medici, Giuliano, son of 
Lorenzo, 94 

Medici, Lorenzo de', the 
Magnifico, 87; culture of, 
90; death, 92 

Medici, Lorenzo de', nephew 
of Leo X., 114 

Medici, Pietro de', 87 

Medici, Pietro de', son of 
Lorenzo, 94; exiles Savo- 
narola from Florence, 96; 
expelled from Florence, 99 

Medici, Silvestro de', 79, 
81 

Medina del Campo, 106 



3i6 



Index 



Melegnano, Battle at, 203 

Meloria, Council at, 33; bat- 
tle of, 42 

Menelik, king of Shoa, 265; 
life of, 267; presents gift 
to Princess lolande, 294 

Menotti, Giro, 175 

Metternich, 179; flees, 181 

Michaelangelo, no; assists 
Florence, 122 

Michael of Constantinople, 

43 
Michele di Lando, 80 
Milan, Visconti, in, 55, 79; 

a republic, 83; Capital of 

Cisalpine republic, 154; 

Austrians enter, 167; riot 

and freedom for, 182; 

Charles Albert^s entrance 

into, 185; riots in, 270; 

representative feeling in, 

299 
Milazzo, battle at, 208 
Minghetti, 221 
Modena, Duchy of, 145, 151, 

169 
Mohammed, 86 
Monaco, given to France, 

214 
Montanelli, 188 
Monte Aperto, Battle of, 36 
Montebello, Battle of, 203 
Monte Mario, 14 
Monte Rotondo, victory at, 

227 
Montferrat, Marquis of, 25, 

74; overcome by Ama- 

deus VIII., 131; given to 

France, 135 
Monti, Vincenzo, author, 

272 



Morals in Italy of to-day, 

262 
Morelli, artist, 280 
Moroello Malaspina, 48 
Morosini, Venetian general, 

129 
Mortara, defeat at, 188 
Murat, in Naples, 158; King 

of Naples, 160; disloyal to 

France, 166; execution of, 

171 
Mustapha, 128 

Naples, Independence of, 17; 
capital of Two Sicilies, 20; 
plague, 64; uprising in, 
135; becomes part of Aus- 
tria, 137; Garibaldi enters, 
207; destitution in, 285 

Napoleon Bonaparte, takes 
command of the French, 
148; Emperor of France, 
159; downfall of, x66; 
offered crown of Italy, 
165; at Elba, 170 

Napoleon III., an ally, 199; 
unites with Victor Eman- 
uel II., 203; makes peace 
with Austria, 204 

Napoleon, Louis, 164 

Narses, 5; rules as Exarch, 
6 

Navy, 256 

Nelson, 155; cruelty of, 156 

Niccolini, Giovani Battista, 

275 

Nicholas I., Pope, 15; pa- 
tron of Orsini, 57 

Nicholas II., 20 

Nicholas III, 39 

Nicholas V., 78; rule of, 85 



Index 



317 



Niveo, Ippolito, author, 277 
Nimwegen, Treaty of, 136 
Nogari, William, 44 
Nota Bartolo, 271 
Novara, Battle at, 188; 

Peace of, 195 
Novi, Battle of, 157 

Octavian, Pope John XII., 

14 
Oreglia, Cardinal, 2, 46 
Orsini, 44; history of, 56, 

66) plots against, 105 
Orsini, Felici, 199 
Osman Digma, 268 
Otto IL, 14 
Otto III., 14, 15 
Otto IV., 30 
Otto of Brunswick, 59 
Ottaviano, 125 
Ottaviano Fregoso, 114 
Oudinot, General, 192 

Padua, 24 

Palazzo, Deputy, 271 

Palermo, expels Bourbons, 
172; taken by Garibaldi, 
208 

Palmerston, Lord, 214 

Paolo the Handsome, .55 

Papal States, nucleus of, 11; 
Investiture, 20, 23; States 
occupied by Napoleon, 
161 ; government, decline 
of, 217; temporal power, 
fall of, 229 

Parini, Giuseppe, 271 

Parma, Duke of, compro- 
mises with Napoleon, 151 ; 
king of Etruria, 158 



Parthenopian republic, 155 
Parthians, annihilation of, 5 
Parties of Right and Left, 

237 

Pasque Veronese, 152 

Passarowitz, Peace of, 129 

Paul HI., 124 

Paul IV., 126 

Pa via, 7, 25; court of Ga- 
leazzo Visconti at, 71 ; 
Certosa di, 72 

Pazzi, Jacopo de', Francesco 
de*, conspiracy of, 88; mas- 
sacre, 89 

Pecci, Cardinal Gioachino 
{see Leo XIII.) 

Pellico, Silvio, 274 

Pellou, 270 

Pepe, General, 172 

Pepin the Short, 10 

Persano, 225 

Perugia, republic, 23; oc- 
cupied by Italian soldiers, 
210 

Pescara, Marquis of, no, 
118; betrays Holy League, 
119 

Peschiera, fortress of, 184 

Peter, King of Aragon, 43 

Petrarch, 6z 

Philip the Bold, 44 

Philip the Fair, 45 

Philip of Austria, 115 

Philip II. of Spain, 125, 133 

Philip IV., 134 

Philip of Anjou, Philip V. 
of Spain, 131 

Piagnoni, 102 

Piazza del Popolo, 26 

Piazzi, 283 

Piccinini, Nicholas, 83 



3i8 



Index 



Piedmont, important, 133 ; 
annexed to France, 156; 
demands Constitution, 172; 
and Prussia^ 224 

Pietro Luigi, 125 

Pisa, independence of, 17; 
beauties of, 20; competi- 
tion of, 24; on side of 
Ghibellines, 38; defeat by 
Genoa, 42; loss by plague, 
64; Archbishop of, 87; in 
power of Florence, 107 

Pisani, Vittorio, 78 

Pitti, Luca, 87; Palace, 86 

Pius II., 86 

Pius v., 127 

Pius VI., 144; false to 
France, 154; opens Holy 
Door, 244 

Pius VII., 157; imprisoned, 
161 ; returned, 167 

Pius IX., 179; retires from 
contest, 185; flees from 
Naples, 194; imprisons him- 
self in Vatican, 229; gen- 
erous concessions to, 231 ; 
refuses audience to king, 
234; death of, 239 

Pius X., elected, 248; history 
of, 249 

Pizzighitone Castle, 119 

Polenta Family, 55 

Polish Succession, War of, 
139 

Political differences, in Italy, 
264 

Ponchielli, 282 

Ponzo di San Martino, 259 

Popolani Grossi, 58 

Portinari, Beatrice, 46 

Postal facilities, 263 



Potenza, in revolt, 209 
Prati, Giovanni, 277 
Prague, Gy, Peace of, 225 
Presentation journey, 294 
Presburg, Treaty of, 160 
Prince of Naples, 251 
Prince of Orange, 121 ; 

death, 123 
Private life of sovereigns, 

296 
Prussia aids Italy success- 
fully, 224, 225 
Puccini, musician, 282 
Pyrenees, Treaty of the, 135 

Quirinal, Napoleon restores 
Palace, 163; Palace, Victor 
Emanuel II. in, 234 

Raconigi, royal family at, 
294 

Radetsky, 182; surrender of 
Pope to, 181 ; Victor 
Emanuel II. treats with, 
190 

Raphael, iii 

Rapisardi, 278 

Ras Mangascia, 268 

Ratazzi, Urbino, 196; blamed 
for cowardice, 222; death 
of, 237 

Ravenna, Dante in, 50 

Raymond di Cordona, 108 

Reformation, 116 

Renaissance, 94, 99 

Rene, adopted heir of Jo- 
anna, 60 

Republics, cities as independ- 
ent, 23 

Riario, 87; Cardinal, 90 

Ricasoli, 221 



Index 



319 



Ricci, 79 

Richard, Earl of Cornwall, 

37 

Richard de la Pole, 119 

Richelieu, 135 

Rienzi, Cola di, early success 
of, 65; first failure, 67; 
return to Rome, 6y; death, 
68 

Right of Investiture, 21 

Rivoli, Castle of, 139 

Robert Guiscard, 19 

Robert of Naples, 53; death 
of, 58 

Robert de la Marck, 114 

Roccasecca, Battle of, 77 

Roger, Count, 19 

Rome, independent, 24, 188; 
desire for Italy's capital, 
217; further agitation con- 
cerning, 228; seized by 
Italian government, 229; 
capital of Italy, 233 

Roncaglia, Diet of, 25 

Rosamund, 7 

Rosetti, Gabriele, 274 

Rossi, despots at Parma, 55 

Rossi, Count Pellegrino, 187 

Rossi, Giuseppe, 241 

Rossini, 280 

Rotharis, 7 

Rudini, Signor di, 267 

Rudolph of Hapsburg, 39 

Rudolph III., King of Bur- 
gundy, 131 

Ruffini, Joseph, 178 

Ruprecht, 73 

Sadowa, Prussia successful 

at, 225 
Saffi, 188 



Salemi, 208 

Salerno, 172 

Saluzzo, Marquis of, 131 

Salviati, Francesco, 87 

San Marino, 169 

San Martino, 204 

San Miniato, 123 

Santa Lucia, Battle before, 
184 

Santorre di Santarosa, 174 

Saracens, 11 

Sardinia, nest-egg of Italian 
kingdom, 138; increase of, 
143 

Sarto, Giuseppe (see Pius 
X), 248 

Sarzana, Thomas of, Nicho- 
las v., 85 

Savelli, 56 

Savona, 177 

Savonarola, Girolamo, 91 ; 
influence of, 92; interview 
with Lorenzo di Medici, 
95; height of power, 95, 
103; persecution of, 97; 
death of, 98 

Savoy, rise of, 130; power 
weakened by France, 132; 
invaded by France, 147; 
ceded to Napoleon, 207 

Scala, Bartolomeo, 47 

Scaligeri, despots in Verona, 

55 
Schiaparelli, 283 
Schism, 76; end of, 85 
Scotti, 74 
Selim, 128 
Senefeh, 268 

Senigallia, Castle of, 105 
September Convention, 223, 

226 



320 



Index 



Sforza, Attendolo, yj; cap- 
tain, 83 

Sforza, Francesco, com- 
mences career, 82; Duke 
of Milan, 84; checks ad- 
vance of Amadeus VIIL, 
132 

Sforza, Galeazzo, succeeds 
Francesco, 84 

Sforza, Gian Galeazzo, son 
of Galeazzo, superseded, 
90, 98; death of, 104 

Sforza, Ludovico, 90, 98; 
death at Loches, 103 

Sforza, Giovanni, of Pesaro, 
106 

Sforza, Maximilian, son of 
Ludovico, 108; flight of, 
114; death of, 116 

Sforza, Francesco Maria, 
younger son of Ludovico, 
116 

Siccardi Law, 196 

Sicilian Expedition, 207 

Sicilian Vespers, 43 

Sicily, rebels against Bour- 
bons, 163, 164; revolt in, 
181 

Siena, a republic, 23 

Sigismund, yj 

Silvati, 172 

Simeone di Bardi, 47 

Simplon, road over, 64; 
opening of tunnel through, 
297 

Sistine Chapel, 90 

Sixtus IV., 87, 90 

Socialist, 270 

Soderini, 79 

Solferino, 204 

Soncino, Battle at, 82 



Sophia, 6 

Soudan, 265 

Southern Regno, 7 

Southern Italy, destitution 
in, 260 

Spain, disputes with Savoy, 
134, 135 

Spanish Succession, War of, 
136 

Spielberg, Pellico, impris- 
oned at, 274 

Spinola, despots in Grenoa, 
55 

Spoleto, Duke of, 10 

Spoleto, 56 

Stanislaus Leszcynski, 139 

Staufen, Mount, 25 

Stefano, 88 

Stephen, Pope, 10 

Stephanie, wife of Crescen- 
tius, 15 

St. Elmo, Castle of, 136 

St. Quentin, Battle of, 133 

Suello, Monte, Garibaldi de- 
feated at, 225 

Superga Heights, 189 

Sylvester II., 15 

Symmachus, 4 

Tagliacozzo, Battle of, 38 
Tagliamento, Battle of, 152 
Tasso, 112 
Tchernaya, 197 
Theodolinda, 9 
Theodora, 13 
Theodore, 265 
Theodoric, 3 
Theophania, 14 
The Thousand, 208 
Thomas, Francis, 173 
Thorwaldsen, 280 



Index 



321 



Tiberine republic, 155 

Tintoretto, 112 

Titian, 112 

Tommaseo, Nicolo, 276 

Tortona, 25 

Tours, Battle of, 10 

Toselli, Major, 268 

Trebbia, Battle of, 157 

Tregua Dei, 22 

Treviso, 24 

Triple Alliance, 242 

Troya, 276 

Tunis, 25 

Turin, treaty of, 79; capital 
removed from, 223; ex- 
position at, 270 

Turks, 86; Venice threat- 
ened by, 128 

Two Sicilies, brief summary 
of history of, 20, 60 

Uberti, 30 

Uguccione, 48 ; Paradiso 

dedicated to, 49 
Umberto, Count of Salemi, 

251 
United Italy as planned by 

Napoleon, 162 
Urban IL, 20 
Urban IV., 37 
Urban V., 75 
Urban VL, 59, 76 
Ursus, 56 
Utrecht, Peace of, 137 

Valentina, 103 

Valtellina, 134 

Vandals, disappearance of, 6 

Vanucci, 276 

Varese, 72 

Vaucluse, 63 



Vela, Vincenza, 280 

Velletri, 56 

Venice, 17, 20, 24; govern- 
ment of, 41 ; contest with 
Genoa, 74; at height of 
her power, 78; league 
against, 107; decline of, 
128; Napoleon takes, 152; 
again proclaimed a re- 
public, 182; oppressed by 
Austria, 191 ; deserted by 
France, 204; given up to 
Italy, 225 

Vercelli, 131 

Verdi, 280; life of, 281; 
death of, 282 

Verdun, treaty of, 11 

Verga, dramatist, 282 

Verona, battle of, 157 

Veronese, Paolo, 112 

Via Sacra, 297 

Victor, Count of Turin, 251 

Victor Amadeus L, 135 

Victor Amadeus II., 136; 
supports Philip V., 137; 
abdicates, 138 ; impris- 
oned, 139 

Victor Amadeus III., 145; 
makes terms with Napo- 
leon, 156 

Victor Emanuel I., 156; 
receives back Piedmont 
and Savoy, 167; abdicates, 

173 
Victor Emanuel IL, 189; 
compromise with Austria, 
190 ; commences reform, 
195; patriotic speech of, 
201 ; takes stand against 
temporal power of Pope, 
210; recognized by powers 



322 



Index 



as King of Italy, 212; re- 
sides in Quirinal, 234; 
death, 238; mourning for, 

239 

Victor Emanuel III., birth 
of, 242; succeeds Hum- 
bert, 290; early training 
and education, 291, 292; 
ability of, 293 

Vienna, Treaty of, 139; 
congress at, 167 

Viesseux, Gian Pietro, 276 

Villafranca, Peace of, 206 

Villani, Matteo, Filippo, 64 

Violante, 71 

Visconti in Milan, 55; Mat- 
teo, 57, 69 

Visconti, Galeazzo, 57; Otto 
the Archbishop, 69 

Visconti Azzo, 69; Luc- 
chino, 69 

Visconti, Archbishop Gio- 
vanni, 70 

Visconti, Stephano, 70; Mat- 
teo, 70 

Visconti, Galeazzo, 70; in 
Pavia, 71 ; Bernabo, 70 ; 
in Milan, 71 ; Gian Gale- 
azzo, 71; ability of, 72; 



Giovanni Maria, 74; Fil- 
ippo Maria, 74; failing 
power of, 82; yield land 
to Piedmont, 131 
Vittoria Colonna, no 
Volta Alessandro, 146 

Wagram, Battle of, 161 
Waibling, 25 
Waldenses, 127 
Waldo, Peter, 127 
Walter of Brienne, 58 
Warsaw, Council at, 214 
Waterloo, 170 
Welf of Bavaria, 25 
Werner, Duke, 61 
Wencelaus, 73 
White Company, 62 
William the Norman, 26 
William II., 29 
Wireless telegraphy, 283 

Young Italy, 177 

Zanardelli, 270; death of, 

297 
Zeno, 3 

Zichy, General, 182 
Zwingli, no 



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